TSWAT:Fall of the Fourth Reich
by gdouglas56
Summary: The world was split into two spheres since the beginning of the war. Highly-trained TSWAT troops were sent by the EDR against the Nationalists. Warning: Contain hints of rascism, language, and war. Full summary inside. COMPLETE.
1. Prologue

"_I must study politics and war, so that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy." John Adams, the 2__nd__ President of the United States of America._

* * *

Before World War II, Hitler believed in the great Aryan race, a race of only white people. He dreamt of uniting the white people under one nation and expulsion of the other races. He created the Nazi party, won the elections and turned the Weimar Republic into Nazi Germany. He invaded lands which belonged to Germany before, to claim what had been lost after World War I. The United Kingdom and France saw this as an act of aggression and declared war on Germany.

The Nazis invaded Western Europe quickly, and with their Blitzkrieg tactics, they conquered most of Europe. Hitler tried to get to the UK, but made a fatal mistake of not pushing troops into England, but bombed British cities. He then decided to invade Russia, using political stance to cover up for the unification of the Aryan race.

In the process of invading Russia and the UK, he ordered the execution of the Jews, the ones who believe in cosmopolitanism, as the Nazis oppose this view. Millions have been executed or sent to the ghettos. Thus, the Holocaust had begun.

With UK at its last ditch effort to hold the Nazis back, and Russia on the brink of defeat, the US came in and helped against the Nazis, pouring in supplies, equipment and troops into England. The cold winters in Russia forced the Nazis to retreat, and a massive Allied deployment all across France pushed the German forces back to Germany. When the Allies and the Soviets were nearing Berlin, Hitler killed himself, and Nazi Germany had surrendered.

Several of his loyalists escaped from Germany and scatter themselves across the world, recruiting new members to bring back the Reich.

* * *

Sometime in the early 21st century, the world's economy was in freefall, first a deflation of money value, then a huge recession. A new leader rose among the American politicians, and had gained the most support from the American people. But in secret, this was one of the neo-Nazi members who wish to bring the Reich back.

He got into power, disbanded the Senate and appointed neo-Nazi members into his cabinet. He then hired terrorists to create chaos during his presidency, and then planting evidence on non-white people to prove his case of not trusting the non-whites. The people, out of fear, started to believe his every word and became racist. All non-white people had been expelled from the country, and those who refused to move were executed. He then turned the political stance of America from a democracy to dictatorship, restricting civil rights. Some Americans did not support this, so he ordered mass executions on them, making some Americans to flee to other countries. He then did massive armament to the entire nation, recruiting tens and millions of people. He then annexed the United Nations, blaming the entire world that they caused civil unrest in America.

With the annexing of the United Nations, the whole world started to get suspicious and every country got into high alert. When America invaded the South Americas and Canada, the world declared war on America. The Americans suddenly launched nuclear missiles to every country in the world, nuking every city. Billions have died in this nuclear war. The other superpowers tried to hit back, but America had been secretly building the SDI to deal with nuclear threats, rendering the MAD theory useless. The other nations quickly built up their own SDI, and America stopped launching nukes, but started invading using their ground forces. They managed to get Western Europe, only with England and the rest of Eastern Europe left (Germany, Russia, etc.), Australia, New Zealand, India, the Middle East and parts of Japan and South Korea.

With billions dead from nuclear genocide, the remaining governments formed a coalition called the Eurasian Democratic Republic. They had no choice but to conscript its remaining population to fight against these neo-Nazis. Most of the remaining populace was children and teenagers, aged 9 to 18. These children had been taught that this was the fight for freedom and if the neo-Nazis win, they were to be executed. The children got riled up, and prepared to go to war against their aggressors.

Many trained, but an exceptional few got picked out as they were the best in their field. The remaining governments decided to create a 'special forces' team to match against the Navy Stormtroopers and American-SS. They created TSWAT (Teenage Special Weapons Attack Team), an elite team comprising teenagers between 13 and 18. They have been given high-tech equipment, trained to drive vehicles (tanks and jeeps) and employ hit-and-run tactics.

Slowly, TSWAT won mini battles against the American Nationalist forces (as now it's called), and now the coalition was pushing the Nationalist forces out of Europe.

* * *

Author's note: Please read and review. Because the whole story has been typed out before being posted here, this note won't appear on every chapter. Cheers and enjoy.


	2. Act I: The French Assault

_(Events during the fourth to the fifth year of war)_

It's all quiet on the Western front. A 'no-man's' land between French and German borders was filled with pock marks and dirt. Smoke can be seen across the German horizon. A group of birds were seen flying across the dull, open sky, hoping to find a branch to sit on. Twisted scrap metal that used to be a part of a jet aircraft stuck out like a sore thumb on this barren land. A few hundred meters in French borders stood a huge wall with watchtowers, overlooking the land. The American flag, now tainted with the Swastika sign, waved along with the wind that blew from the North. Winter arrived in this disputed land in its harshest way. The nuclear war brought a new ice age to this new world. Individual countries no longer exist. It is now between the American Nationalist and Eurasian Democratic Republic in a struggle of ideologies.

Suddenly, streaks of white vapour cut across the dull sky, followed by a sonic boom. A sound of a bomb dropping towards the ground was heard. The bomb met its target, the wall. It let off a huge explosion, creating a hole in the wall. More artillery shells followed after. They hit the main artillery guns on the walls, rendering them useless. Then a swarm of German Leopard and British Challenger tanks moved quickly across the barren land, trying to enter France.

Nationalist troops loaded their anti-tank weapons and fired at the tanks. One-by-one, the tanks blew up into pieces. But the armored wave continued to move in. The Nationalist M1 Abrams tanks came through the hole from behind the wall, assisting the watchtowers on the Blitzkrieg assault by the Eurasian forces.

From behind the lines, a brunette Caucasian teenager looked at the assault through his binoculars. He then turned to a blonde Caucasian teen, his subordinate.

"Terry, when will the teams be ready?" asked the brunette.

"In a minute, Doug," replied Terry. Doug reached out for his radio.

"Haans, Kreutz, Oppemheimer, one minute and counting," he announced. Then he looked at his 8-man strike team. They were all nervous. He counted till the last second.

"Ok, people, its time," said Doug and he and his team moved out from their bunkers and towards their position.

* * *

After reaching their position, which is a rock formation near the wall, Doug turned to an Asian girl. She had skin as white as marble, her slick, black hair flowed towards her shoulders and her fringe covered the left part of her face.

"Vespin, enemy count in those watchtowers," instructed Doug. She closed her eye for a while before reporting back.

"Ninety troops, ten at each tower, additional forces, twenty M1 tanks and five jets scrambled. Laser defense turrets, three active," reported Vespin. Then he turned to both silver-haired and brunette teens to give the orders.

"Ivan, show what Russian snipers are made of. Maddie, show your kickass Malaysian moves and try to get closer and pluck out those laser defense turrets," instructed Doug.

"Da, comrade," said Ivan in his heavy Russian accent. His hazel eyes never blinked once since he entered the theatre of war. He moved his silver fringe from his eyes and stared directly at the scope. Maddie nodded and moved out quickly to another viewpoint to get a shot at the laser turrets. Ivan aimed at one of the towers with his custom G3-SG1 sniper rifle. His target: a Nationalist soldier loading a missile into a launcher. His crosshair stuck on the missile.

"For the motherland," said Ivan before he pulled the trigger. The bullet hit the missile, causing an explosion. There were missile piles in the tower, and they exploded too, causing a chain reaction. The tower burst into flames, much to the dismay of the Nationalist troops. The assaulting tank teams cheered and had their spirits up. They've started to move closer into France. Doug heard a crackle on his radio. He picked it up to listen to it.

"Thanks, eight more and all we need now is to get rid of those turrets so our missiles can get through," said a voice.

"We're working on that," replied Doug.

* * *

At a position not far from where Doug and his team were, Maddie was trying to get aim on the turrets, when an enemy squad spotted her.

"An infidel! Get her!" shouted the squad commander before the squad opened fire. Maddie quickly turned around and put her metallic left arm above her. The arm suddenly opened, forming a shield to protect her from incoming enemy fire. She grabbed her radio and sent a distress signal.

"Unit pinned down! Need assistance!" screamed Maddie through her radio while ricocheting bullets caused deafening sounds. She then pulled out her gun and started shooting back. The enemy squad formed a perimeter around her so she could not escape. Stuck at a ledge with nowhere to run, she started praying to god that she would rather be dead than to be captured. Then the bullets stopped ricocheting. She looked behind and saw Terry and Vespin standing atop the dead enemies.

"Sorry we couldn't catch up. We knew something's bound to happen," said Terry.

* * *

The turrets blew into bits as one by one Maddie plucked out their power supply. Seeing from his binoculars, he took out his radio from his back and reported in.

"Haans, Kreutz, Oppemheimer, the tanks are all yours," reported Doug. Across the land, TSWAT operatives jumped out of hiding and ambushed the Nationalist tanks with anti-tank launchers. The Nationalist tanks were destroyed, opening way for the British and German tanks to roll into France. Ivan plucked out the Nationalist troops manning the towers, clearing off any opposition. The Nationalist Raptors were taken care of by the Eurofighters and the MiGs, while the rest of the invasion army marched into France. Doug looked at his wristwatch as he saw the army entering through the walls.

"9:00 a.m., at least 3 hours before the Nationalist reinforcements arrive. All right, grab your gear, we're heading back to camp," said Doug. His team packed up and left the area.

* * *

The group was heading back to camp at the bunker not far from the battlefield.

"Well, that was easy, we didn't do much," said a green-haired guy to a blue-haired girl, walking together side-by-side.

"But anyway, we have to be there just in case something happens," replied the blue-haired girl.

"Like what?" asked the green-haired guy.

"Like Maddie's situation. Jeez, why are you so stupid….," complained the blue-haired girl.

"Aw, come on. If I was stupid, you must be quite stupid to choose me as your lover boy, Yee Lin," replied the green-haired boy, reaching out his arms, attempting to grope her.

"Man up, James," said Yee Lin as she pushed James gently away from her. Doug sighed at their antics.

"Kids these days………," he thought aloud.

"Hey, you're a kid too, Doug, so think before you say something," rebutted James.

"Singaporeans…," Doug smiled to himself while he shook his head. Terry just rolled his eyes as James was about to start ranting.

"As you can see, we still fit into the kid group, the 13-18 age groups….," ranted James before Yee Lin reached up and locks her lips with his. James stopped talking after that, fazed.

"Thanks, Yee Lin," praised Terry.

"No problem," replied Yee Lin.

* * *

They reached the camp at the bunker. There were several Eurocopter Tiger assault choppers and Russian Hind transport choppers on standby, ready for lift-off. Troops were loading missiles on the Tiger assault choppers while some paratroopers got onto the Hind transports. Ground crew was fastening the cables on the Hinds so they could carry the German Panzerhaubitze 2000 artillery vehicles. A young man about the age of 20 went forward to greet Doug and his team.

"Commander Gerald McKenna, British 21st paratrooper battalion," introduced the man.

"Commander Douglas Kreig, the Eurasian TSWAT 1st Alpha team," introduced Doug.

"Commander, we haven't got time. I'll brief you about our next mission on the way to the target zone."


	3. Act I: The Carentan Defensive

"Last night our British paratroopers have seized control of Carentan, few kilometers deep into French territory. With pressure from the German front, the Nationalists will hold off the offensive on Carentan for a few days, but not long enough for us to clear the English Channel so that our heavy armor can get in. The local resistance forces are willing to help us bring intelligence on Nationalist movements, just as long as we are able to get their country back. This Carentan counter-offensive is the proving ground," explained Gerald.

"Sounds like World War II all over again," commented Doug.

"Yeah, I know. This time with modern weaponry."

"Well, at least with artillery pieces and aircraft above our heads, we should be able to hold off for a week or so." Then the pilot summoned Commander Gerald to the cockpit and Gerald got off. Minutes later, Gerald came out of the cockpit and sat opposite of Doug.

"I've just been informed by high command that TSWAT 2nd Alpha team has been sent into Carentan as well," said Gerald.

"You mean THE 2nd Alpha team?" budged James.

"Yes, why'd you ask?

"Maaaan, they're the most famed TSWAT team as they are the only ones to have tanks." Doug sighed. Terry pretended to sleep and not hear James.

"Yeah, whatever," commented Gerald.

"Reaching to drop point, 10 minutes," reported the pilot.

"Saved by the report," thought Terry as he smiled.

* * *

The team was dropped at a makeshift landing zone inside Carentan. There were paratroopers guarding the landing zone. The helicopters touched down and the paratroopers inside the Hinds came out, followed by Commander Gerald and Commander Douglas and his team. They walked towards the command post, the town hall. Commander Gerald excused himself to meet with the commanding officer of the first paratrooper squadron. The TSWAT moved on and saw another TSWAT operative, a girl, at the town hall. He walked towards the girl fixing the engine of a Hummer, who was wearing TSWAT uniform. She had red hair and was quite short.

"Excuse me, who's your commanding officer?" asked Doug. The redhead stopped working and looked up.

"I am," replied the girl.

"Yulie Pendragon, 2nd Alpha team leader," she saluted.

"Douglas Kreig, 1st Alpha team leader," saluted Doug.

"Well, the 1st Alpha team came. I thought you sharpshooters were too good for this battlefield."

"Heck, we serve in any battlefield." They both had a small laugh.

"Oh, and by the way, meet my team," said Doug while he showed her his team.

"Terry McCormick, second squad leader. I'm the ears of the battlefield," introduced Terry, while he tapped a headphone-like contraption on his head.

"Ivan Gredenko, first sniper," said Ivan in his heavy accent.

"James Jing, support," said James while tapping his rifle.

"And lover of…….." continued James.

"Shut up, James. Respect to the squad leader," scolded Yee Lin. Yulie signaled Doug to come closer to her.

"Idiot problem? Me too," whispered Yulie. Doug just shook his head while he smiled.

"Yee Lin, support," said Yee Lin while she saluted. Yulie indicated there was no need to formally introduce.

"Maddie Onn, second sniper," introduced Maddie.

"Vespin Otonashi, intelligence officer, eyes of the 'field," introduced Vespin.

"Prove it," said Yulie. Vespin moved her fringe to the side, revealing a big cyborgs eye.

"Ah, I see," responded Yulie. Then she looked at a blonde next to her with a Red Cross crest in the middle of her Kevlar. Yulie knew she wasn't Caucasian because she had brown eyes and very Asian features. "And you would be…"

"Cheryl Kisungji, team medic" introduced a blonde girl.

"So that about my team, commander. How 'bout yours?" asked Doug. Yulie pulled out her radio and spoke in it.

"All units gather up front," commanded Yulie. In five minutes, a modified Hummer came racing though the streets of the town. There were three guys and two girls on the Hummer. They came out of the vehicle, formed a line and saluted. Yulie saluted and indicated to put their arms down.

"Introduce you," commanded Yulie. A redhead step forth and introduced himself.

"Edward Reed, support," said Edward as he stares blankly at Vespin. Vespin felt weird then soon after let out a shriek. She quickly crossed her arms and then slapped Edward to the ground. Edward moaned.

"Hey, what the hell was that for!?" complained Edward.

"I think she finally caught you staring at her bosom," replied Yulie, staring down at him. Vespin turned away with her face red.

"Kids these days……" said Doug while shaking his head. James was about to rant when Yee Lin put a finger on his lips. Terry heaved a sigh of relief. Edward got up and fell in line with a palm mark on his face for remembrance.

"Eric Yee, recon," introduced a spiky-haired boy. He bowed down before the girls before falling back in line.

"Such a gentleman," commented Yee Lin. James grew jealous.

"Nicky Yee, heavy weapons," introduced a boy with spectacles. It was obvious as he was carrying a FGM-148 Javelin launcher on his back.

"Leon Orgendarsh, recon," introduced a silver-haired girl. Ivan had his eyes wide open. He never seen anyone with hair and eye color the same as his.

"Natisha Sonja, sniper," said an Indian.

"Only six?" asked James.

"Yes, James. They are special TSWAT teams just like us. Normal TSWAT teams would amount about ten members. Furthermore, since when do girls in our teams wear skirts for battle?" replied Terry sarcastically. Doug was amazed that he saw an Indian for the first time in years.

"It's been ages since I've seen one like you. The last time I've seen one was before the war," said Doug.

"My country got nuked; my family ran away to England. Now it's time for our revenge," said Natisha while she gritted her teeth. Doug could feel a dark aura surrounding her.

"Ok, back to position," commanded Yulie. Her team scuttled to their Hummer and drove off.

* * *

"All teams, report," said Commander Gerald on the radio.

"Team Alpha 1 at South-East entrance, all clear," replied Doug.

"Team Alpha 2 at South-West entrance, all clear," replied Yulie.

"Artillery teams, armed and ready," replied the artillery commander.

"30th paratrooper battalion, East and West entrance clear," replied the battalion commander. Then a soldier rushed into the town hall, the command post.

"Commander, our satellites have spotted several tanks closing the town from the South-East!" said the soldier.

"Damn! That's early! Quick, activate the radar jammer," replied Gerald.

"Yes sir!" replied the soldier.

"All teams prepare for battle," reported Gerald.

* * *

"Ok team, we got enemy tanks coming in. The radar jammer's on so we can't get live feed of their numbers. Vespin, number count," commanded Doug. Vespin, who was teamed up with him, slowly stood up to get a clearer view on the South-East horizon. Her cyborgs eye zoomed in and counted the number of tanks.

"35 M1 Abrams tanks and 12 missile tanks. They're attempting to flush us out…….." said Vespin before Doug caught a reflective light from on top the hill. In a fraction of a second, he quickly grabbed Vespin and put her down on the ground. He then positioned himself on top of her to provide cover and put his robotic right hand up. A golden shield deployed. A gunshot was heard and the bullet ricocheted on the shield. Vespin could only cover her head with her hands while Doug pulled out his radio.

"Ivan, Maddie, snipers on the hill. Watch out for them," said Doug while he sat up and helped Vespin up.

"Vespin, are you alright?" asked Doug. Vespin slightly blushed at the question.

"Yeah, I'm okay," said Vespin. They both slowly moved away from the area.

Not far from that location, Ivan peered through the sniper scope and saw a few soldiers and snipers moving positions.

"Pathetic fascists," commented Ivan before he pulled the trigger. The bullet pierced through five of those soldiers, including one sniper. The rest got scattered, and Maddie took the opportunity to snipe the rest. Terry, with his headphone-like contraption, listened diligently. Then he reported back to command post.

"They're planning to strike tonight. We got to think of a plan fast if we are going to survive tomorrow. Daylight's ending in 2 hours," reported Terry as he looked at the setting sun. Then a reply from the command post came through.

"All TSWAT members are to return to base. Paratroopers are to take over TSWAT's positions," replied the radio.

* * *


	4. Act I: The Carentan Offensive

Doug and Vespin were the first to get to the town hall. When they reached there, ther was a heated debate on the next move.

"Ok, here's the deal. We can use our artillery to get them, but that will reveal our artillery's position while they would've moved ever since the first strike, "said Gerald.

"But that was 10 minutes ago. They wouldn't have moved that quickly. Furthermore, the radar jammer is activated. I say we strike now!" said a middle-aged Frenchman, very persistent on this move.

"What's going on here?" asked Doug, knowing he must interrupt before the argument could get any worse.

"Oh, Commander Doug, I would like you to meet Jacques Francois, the resistance leader of this town," said Gerald.

"What? This kid is a commander? How laughable," insulted the Frenchman. Doug tightens his fist at the Frenchman's insult, but following military conduct, he didn't make a sudden move. Instead, he crossed his hands and announced.

"The rest of the team is on their way. I'll bring them to the meeting," said Doug, before he turned away in anger. Vespin could feel his anger, even at a distance. She followed him out of the church. She saw him sit down at the kerb on the road with his head down. She went and sat next to him to see her commander's problem.

"These people have no idea how we put our lives on the line for the sake of them," muttered Doug.

"But that's how people are during war. After this, we will be remembered as the liberators of freedom," explained Vespin.

"I don't know how you still manage to think positively after almost getting killed," said Doug.

"We live for tomorrow. Even though shit happens, we'll still find a way to get through," replied Vespin.

"I guess you're right. Now I wonder how Rina is………now that she's serving at the Eastern front…, oh I miss her……," he sniffled. Vespin held him close by her while he let his tears flow. After a while, he stopped sobbing and managed to gain control of himself.

"Thanks, Vespin. I really needed that," said Doug.

"No problem, sir," replied Vespin enthusiastically. Doug stood up and saw the TSWAT teams arrived.

"A bit late, I suppose," said Doug in his sarcastic tone. Vespin just smiled; glad to see her commander back to himself.

* * *

"We could send out scouts. That way, we could estimate their numbers," said Gerald.

"I'll grab my people to do the scouting," said Jacques.

"That's suicidal," rebutted Doug. "They have snipers everywhere. Half an hour ago, we almost got shot."

"Listen kid, you don't know the rural area like us Frenchmen have," said Jacques sarcastically.

"Then we'll form a collaborated team to scout," suggested Doug.

"But with you kids? I wonder if you are even competent," insulted Jacques. Doug became furious and used his metal arm to grab Jacques by the collar.

"Listen here, be fortunate that we are putting our asses on the line for your petty resistance rather staying at home, eating chicken soup and reading storybooks! I might be a teenager, but I have endured the suffering of the world. You don't even want to know how I got this metal arm, so get used to it, old man!" said Doug angrily before pushing him down back to his seat. Jacques was fazed at Doug's speech, almost speechless.

"Like it or not, Gerald, we are scouting in approximately 5 minutes. Yulie, Eric, Nicky, Ivan, Terry, Vespin, get your gear. We're going out," announced Doug before heading out to the door. The rest of the team just sat and stared at Gerald.

"What the hell are you staring at? Get going!" exclaimed Gerald.

* * *

The team was getting ready to scout when Jacques came out of the town hall. He approached Doug.

"Um, Doug, I was thinking, I have been mean to you and your team. You guys have fought a long battle against racism. Well, I'm here to help you win this battle," said Jacques, feeling guilty. Doug just looked at him and opened his mouth.

"Hop in, there's space for more. Oh, and do you need a weapon?" asked Doug.

"No thanks. I've got me trusty AK-47 with me," said Jacques, indicating on the rifle behind him.

"It'll be thirty minutes before the suns sets. Let's get cracking," Doug announced. The team hopped into the Hummer and drove off.

* * *

Minutes passed as they went through small lanes of the countryside, looking for Nationalist troops, with the direction of Jacques. They arrived at an abandoned farmhouse when they spotted missile tanks miles off from their location.

"Quick, get into the farmhouse!" said Yulie as Nicky drove with speed. He drifted and reached the farmhouse in a matter of seconds. They parked the Hummer inside the farmhouse and closed the farmhouse doors. Ivan and Vespin rushed to the upper floors of the farmhouse to look at the missile tanks. Vespin reported back.

"The whole battalion is here. Distance, 5 miles," Vespin reported. Doug and Yulie started discussing about their next move.

"Ok, daylights are going off in 15 minutes. We can't possibly reach there in time," said Doug.

"An M1 is approaching with four troop escorts! One mile off and closing," reported Vespin, looking through another window. Yulie looked at Doug with a mischievous grin on her face.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Yulie. Doug could feel his evil self come out.

"Yes, sure……" grinned Doug.

* * *

The M1 Abrams tank moves slowly alongside its troop escorts. Then, one of them sees tire tracks on the road. The person signaled the tank to stop as he goes to inspect the tire tracks. Doug, Nicky, Yulie, Eric, Jacques and Terry crept from behind the tank and seized its operators. The other four troop escorts, including the one inspecting the tire tracks, were taken out by Ivan from the farmhouse. The operators were shot and thrown into a ditch nearby.

"We wish we wouldn't have to kill them, but they've been led by a bad government," commented Doug after disposing the bodies. The others stayed silent, possibly a silent prayer. Then they entered the tank and moved towards the battalion.

* * *

It was late evening. The sky was almost dark. The sun was nothing but a streak of orange, floating atop the ocean. The company commander was counting down to the assault in a tent when one of his soldiers alerted him.

"Sir, one of our tanks is coming towards us," said a soldier, observing the M1 tank through his binoculars. The company commander came out from his tent, and took the binoculars from his subordinate and looked through.

"Yeah, probably needs some refueling. Signal them for authentication code," commanded the commander. The soldier ran towards the tent and brought out a torch light. The soldier flicked the switch on and off, sending Morse code to the tank. The tank stopped in its tracks just a mile off.

"Sir, they've stopped," said the soldier.

"What the hell?!" commented the commander before looking through his binoculars again. He saw the main gun adjusting, aiming towards the battalion. The company commander realized it was a trap.

"Battalion, abort mission!" shouted the commander as the first shell was fired from the tank. The shell hit one of the missile tanks and the tank burst into flames. The company commander ran towards the tent and radioed in.

"Mayday! Mayday! We are under attack! We need support!" reported the commander. There were explosions in the background and men shouting and running helter-skelter, finding for cover. One of the soldiers was on fire and he ran frantically around the area before succumbing to the heat. The M1 tank that was a mile away appeared before the tent and Eric opened fire on with the tank's mounted machine gun, killing the commander and destroying the equipment. All the missile tanks have been destroyed and all its soldiers were killed or ran away. Doug, who was commanding the tank, pulled out his radio and radioed in.

"Mission accomplished. Tonight's gonna be a quiet one," said Doug.

* * *

Weeks later, British Challenger and French Leclerc tanks were rolling through the town, bringing together troops and equipment from the British Isle. Doug looks at the movement of supplies from the beaches from the town hall. Commander Gerald came from behind and patted his back.

"We did it, Doug. We did it," commented Gerald, smiling before being called upon by one of his troops. Maddie approached Doug and asked him a question.

"Are we going home?" asked Maddie, starting a private conversation. "Since the army is now here?"

"I don't know, Madeline. We'll know soon enough," replied Doug, looking into her eyes.

"Hmm, you're the only person to still know my real name," commented Maddie. Doug just smiled at her.

"Well, your hair's a mess after all these weeks," teased Doug. Maddie lightly slapped him on the shoulder. Doug grabbed her hand when she did that. She lifted her robotic left arm and aimed her fist on his head.

"You don't want me to hit you, do you?" asked Maddie in a not-so-serious tone. Doug used his robotic arm to grab her by the waist and pulled her closer to him.

"Try me," answered Doug. Their faces were inches apart when Vespin came out of the town hall.

"Doug, I……….," said Vespin before looking at Doug and Maddie close together. Both of them turned and looked at Vespin.

"……………..I have received word, we're going home," said Vespin while she smiles.

"Really? Gosh, I wanted to get out of this filthy uniform," said Maddie. Doug let go and Maddie went to Vespin.

"You know there's this store where they sell the best clothes," said Maddie.

"Really? I want to go buy some too," said Vespin as they walked away. Doug just stared at them before his senses came back.

"Doug, don't be too greedy," Doug said to himself while he grinned. He turned away to see the 2nd Alpha team.

* * *

"So our next place is Gibraltar, where we will meet with the 3rd and 4th Alpha teams," said Yulie, giving a briefing to her comrades with an aid of a map on the Hummer's bonnet when Doug arrived. Yulie noticed Doug and she saluted. Doug saluted back.

"I heard news that we're all going home," said Doug. Yulie and her team looked at him.

"We decided to stay," said Yulie. "With the unpredictability of the Nationalist forces, it's best we stay on while other teams take a break. Furthermore, we already had ours three months ago."

"Oh, I see," said Doug. "Well, good luck in your next mission. Hope to see you again."

"We will meet again," said Yulie before putting out her hand. Doug shook her hand when a jeep pulled by.

"Commander, the transports are about to leave. Hop in. We'll give you a ride there," said the driver. Doug just nodded and ran towards the jeep and got in. He waved goodbye to the 2nd team before the jeeps zoomed off.

"I wonder if I will actually see them again," thought Doug.

* * *


	5. Act I: Back in Munich

"Aaaahhh! It's so good to be back!" said Doug when he lay down on his bed. He could feel his body aching from all the missions he and his team had undertaken. He looked around his room. There's a computer, a wardrobe and a desk with a toolkit on it, for working and fixing on his weapons. The room was plain white; you don't expect it to be colored during war. He got up and looked out the window. From the view he saw the snow-covered ground that stretched miles off and a city near the horizon. He was glad that all of them bought this mansion. It has much more peaceful scenery than the crowded city centers. Furthermore, it was the least likely place to be hit by a nuclear warhead than the city. He sighed and took off his uniform and his robotic arm, getting ready for a bath.

After the bath, he looked into his wardrobe and wore a white shirt and pants. He put in civilian version of his robotic arm in place of his military golden one, which will be sent for repairs. After dressing up, he got out of the room to check on his teammates. He looked down from the upper floor to the ground floor to find Vespin in a white dress, reading a book, sitting next to the fireplace.

"Hey, Vespin. What're you reading?" asked Doug. Vespin looked up to see Doug on the first floor.

"Oh, it's 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas' by John Boyne. It's a very good read," replied Vespin. Doug thought for a while for a reasonable line.

"It kinda reflects what is happening now in America, I guess," commented Doug. Vespin just nodded and continued reading. Doug went to one of the rooms and knocked on a door.

"Come in," answered the voice. Doug entered and saw Terry in his gray shirt and brown pants, at his drawing board, drawing. Doug took a peek at Terry's picture. He sees a boy and a girl, sitting on the beach, observing the sun setting. Doug couldn't help but say something.

"Played Kingdom Hearts?" asked Doug. Terry, in deep concentration, just nodded as his hand moved gracefully across the paper like a pianist with his fingers dancing on top of the keys. Doug quietly exited the room and got to the next room, Ivan's room. He was about to open the door when he heard bumping sounds. He opened the door and Ivan was seen doing………nothing.

"Hey, Ivan, what have you doing? 'Nothing' as usual?" asked. Ivan, wearing a blue T-shirt and dark pants, stuttered an answer.

"Y-yeah ….just chillin' out…," stuttered Ivan.

"Oooookay, fine. I'm going now," said Doug. "I can see your porno mags under the bed." Doug closed the door afterwards. He then decided to go out. He passed through a room where he heard lots moaning sounds.

"Them again, huh? I reckon they'll break the world record," thought Doug. He walked downstairs and got to the closet and pulled out his brown coat. Then he grabbed his car keys and opened the front door.

"I'm going out," announced Doug before leaving.

Cheryl, who was in the kitchen said, "Dinner's ready at seven. Don't wander off for too long."

"I won't," he said back. He just pondered that Cheryl, the youngest member in the team, was now acting like a mother they didn't have. She cooked delicious Western and Eastern meals, and also remembered everyone's birthdays. Walking towards his car, he saw that one of the cars they owned, a BMW M5, was not in the garage.

"She went off shopping, huh?" thought Doug before entering his car. In his Benz C-280, he drove towards the Englischer Garten, one of Munich's urban public parks. He parked it in one of the public garages in the area and entered the garden. The snow covered the grounds like whipped cream on latte. The trees were bare, with all its leaves shed months before. He walked slowly beside the waterfall in the gardens, admiring its beauty. Then he saw a familiar person walking opposite the falls.

"Madeline," he called. The person turned and saw Doug with his hands in his coat pockets.

"Hi, Douglas," she responded, while putting her hands in her black trench coat pocket as well.

"I thought you would be shopping at the city district," said Doug.

"Do I look like a big spender to you?" responded Maddie. Both of them laughed at their private joke.

"Just wait there, I'll come to the other side," said Doug before running to the bridge to get across. The he caught up with Maddie, who was waiting for him. He panted for a while, trying to catch his breath. Then he looked up at Maddie.

"Want a beer?" asked Doug, still tired from running from the other side. Maddie just giggled and they both walked side by side, holding each other's hand.

(The reason beer is going to be the standard drink in the following scenes is because they're in Germany, just in case you miss the word 'Munich'.)

* * *

The mansion, other than its climaxing moans, was very quiet. Vespin would be seen reading a book; Terry would be using his imagination to draw pieces of art; Ivan would be fapping or staring at porn magazines or both; Yee Lin and James was pretty self-explanatory (who else would be making moans?); and Cheryl in the kitchens, cooking. They were all busy with their tasks as usual. But today was a bit different. Terry and Ivan came out of their rooms (finally) to go down to watch a movie on their plasma TV (if they could afford a mansion, then a plasma TV is no big deal) in the TV room.

"So, what movie do we have?" asked Ivan.

"Ironman, Superman, Shrek the Third, all the movies from the old America," answered Terry. Ivan began thinking of titles alternatively to the ones said by Terry.

"How 'bout James Bond? I'm sure we've got some in the stash," suggested Ivan. Terry went searching for them and found some interesting movies. Hunt for the Red October, Kung Pow, Fate/Stay Night movie ("Ivan?!!" said Terry in a rising tone. Ivan sweat dropped.), Saving Private Ryan (Terry sighed, looking at the American flag in the movie cover.), and the Kama Sutra (with James' name written all over it. Terry stared in disbelief at it for a moment). Finally, he found Quantum of Solace Blu-Ray Disc and inserted into the player. Ivan went to get a few bags popcorn from the kitchen, but was stopped by Cheryl, saying two bags would be enough; otherwise he wouldn't be able to finish his dinner. Ivan whined and begged, but all proved futile. He just walked away with two bags of popcorn and a carton of 6-pack Heineken beer. Vespin was interested at Ivan bringing beer and popcorn to the TV room that she put her book down and followed him. She saw them setting up the room to feel like a cinema.

"What are you two been up to?" asked Vespin. Terry and Ivan were distracted from what they were doing and turned to see Vespin at the doorway.

"Oh, hey Vespin. Wanna watch a movie with us?" asked Terry.

"Sure," she replied. They all settled on the couch, with popcorn and beer at hand, as the movie begun.

* * *

Doug and Maddie were sitting in an open café at the base of the Chinesischer Turm tower. A busty waitress came and served their beers before attending to other customers. Doug took his beer mug and took a gulp.

"So what brings you here," asked Doug.

"Oh, it's just beautiful, I guess. Furthermore, it's very soul relaxing," answered Maddie. "How about you?"

"My parents brought my sister and me to this park during the weekends, especially at the fountains, when we were young," explained Doug. "It brings fond memories."

"You have a sister?!" exclaimed Maddie, surprised at the statement.

"Yeah, I do. It's just………" Doug paused.

"I'm so sorry," Maddie apologized.

"No, it's okay. She's at the Eastern front. The only thing is I don't know if she's still alive," explained Doug, with a sad look on his face. Then a message came in on his cell phone. Doug took out his cell phone and looked at it. He smiled after that.

"Who's that from?" inquired Maddie, taking a sip from her beer mug.

"It's from her. She said that her team has taken over India," said Doug, typing a message. "Hoffen, Sie bald. Love, Douglas Kreig"

"What's her name?" asked Maddie. She was curious to know about Doug's mysterious family member.

"Rina, Sabrina Kreig. My twin sister," explained Doug, handing his cell phone to Maddie to show the picture of them together.

"Oh my, you both look just alike," gasped Maddie. She sees Rina as a very cheerful girl with waist-long brown hair and bigger brown eyes compared to her brother. With the brother looking very handsome, and the sister very beautiful, Maddie started to envy them. Doug paused drinking his draught when he noticed Maddie's envy-ish look.

"What?" asked Doug.

"I envy both of you. You both look so good," commented Maddie.

"Look who's talking, beautiful," teased Doug. Maddie blushed.

"Doug, you must be drunk after drinking all that beer," said Maddie.

"How can I be drunk? This has less than 1% alcohol," stated Doug.

"You're not serious, right?" asked Maddie, her face growing redder than before. Doug gave a very serious face, the ones he used during military briefings. With that look, she knew he wasn't fooling around.

"You like me, don't you?" asked Maddie, blushing.

"Of course I do. I like everyone on our team, our commanding officers, and our friends. But you, like my sister, are more than that," said Doug. Maddie became speechless, her cheeks reddened. Doug came face to face with her. They look into each others eyes. She can feel her body tense up. Doug reached out his hand to caress her face. She closed her eyes, preparing for a kiss. Doug was about to land a kiss on her when her cell phone rings.

"Excuse me," said Maddie, as she turned away to pick up the call. She answered her phone and it seems that Cheryl had been reminding that dinner time was approaching. She checked her watch and it stated 6:30 pm. She closed her phone and kept it in her pocket.

"It's Cheryl reminding us that dinner is almost ready," said Maddie. "She's like a mother calling her children to come home to eat together."

"Be reminded that she is the youngest in the team," said Douglas. Maddie giggled at that statement. "Come on, let's go before 'mother' Cheryl calls us again." They both left the park to their cars and drove home.

* * *


	6. Act I: The Betrayal

"Dinner's ready!" shouted Cheryl and her voice echoes around the mansion. The moaning stopped, the movie was completed and the two cars can be heard parking in the garage. Ivan, Terry and Vespin were the first to the round table, followed by Doug and Maddie. The last ones were James and Yee Lin in bath robes, where James was seen carrying Yee Lin bridal style downstairs to the dinner table. Terry sighed at the sight.

"Not even married but acting like one," commented Terry.

"No, it's just that she's too tired to walk, so she asked me to pick her up," shot back James. The rest stared at them. Yee Lin was giggling.

"At least they broke their last record of 2 hours and 54 minutes," said Ivan. Yee Lin gave a death glare at Ivan, who sweat dropped. They took their seats. Tonight's dinner: steamboat (hotpot).

"Who would like to say grace?" asked Cheryl. Everyone kept quiet. With the prolonging silence, Cheryl sighed. Doug just rolled his eyes.

"Since I'm team leader, I'll do it," said Doug. Cheryl gave a faint smile. Doug took a deep breath and started reciting the grace in German.

"Lass't uns beten! Segne, Herr, uns und diese deine Gaben, die wir von deiner Großmut essen werden. Durch Christus, unseren Herr'n. Amen," recited Doug. No one could understand him, but followed suit after by saying "Amen". Then everyone rushed to their food.

* * *

After having a hearty and satisfying meal, they took their plates to the kitchen for washing. They put their cutlery and dishes into the dishwasher and set the timer on the dishwasher.

"You know, the last time we spent the holidays together was like 6 months ago, so we better make full use of it," announced Terry.

"Yeah, a movie marathon starting tonight 8:30 pm 'till 4 in the morning!" said Ivan, with much enthusiasm.

"I second the motion," said Doug, already in his cheerful mood.

"Movie marathon it is," said Terry. "James, Yee, I'm sure you can postpone your…………uh………….time together and be with us."

"Who said we were going back upstairs?" retorted Yee, dragging James to the TV room. The rest stared at their antics.

"I'll……..get the beer," said Doug.

"I'll get the popcorn, hell yeah!" said Ivan as he rushed to the cabinets to take out the popcorn. Everyone else went into the TV room to start the movie.

* * *

It was 3 am. Everyone was tired. Ivan and Terry were drunk and slouching on the couch. Yee and James were sleeping soundly next to each other. Cheryl went to clean up the scraps and brought the empty cans to the kitchen for disposal. Doug, Maddie and Vespin have gone back to their rooms.

Doug looked out the window and saw the night sky. The stars stretched across the night sky, like diamonds, showing off its beauty. Then there was a knock on the door. Doug went to open the door. Vespin appeared before him, in her nightgown.

"……..Is there a problem?" asked Doug. Vespin entered his room and closed the door.

* * *

The next morning, Doug walked down the stairs to the dining table. He saw Terry and Ivan sitting at the dining table, holding their heads.

"Hey guys, hangover?" asked Doug.

"Yeah, a heavy one," replied Ivan. Then footsteps were heard coming down the stairs. It's Vespin, in her black tank-top and white track pants.

"Vespin, you're up early," commented Doug.

"It's such a nice day today. I could not miss this," replied Vespin. "Oh, and thanks for last night. I'm heading to the dojo. Wanna join me?"

"Looks like we got our second couple already," whispered Ivan to Terry. Terry just sighed. Vespin walked towards the dojo. Doug was about to follow suit after when Ivan called him.

"Hey Doug, you…….uh………...banged her last night?" asked Ivan.

"Hell no!" retorted Doug.

"Someone's feeling guilty," commented Ivan.

"Why would I fell guilty?" asked Doug.

"Because you don't want people to know the truth?" asked back Ivan.

"Ivan, you have a sick mind with all your porn shit in your room. If you'll excuse me, I'm going for some teaching," said Doug before turning away and heading towards the dojo. Ivan wooed him, but he didn't care.

At the dojo, Vespin and Maddie were stretching. Maddie caught Doug from the corner of her eye. She stopped stretching and greeted Doug.

"Morning Doug," greeted Maddie.

"Morning girls," greeted Doug.

"We're getting ready for a duel," said Vespin.

"I see. You two, on me," said Doug, getting onto his fighting stance. The two just looked and then stood ready. Then they took out shinais from their backs and charged at Doug, trying to catch him unaware. Doug was a bit surprised, but he dodged the attacks. He got near a weapons rack and took out a staff. He spun the staff around, creating a shield for himself. He quickly got from a defensive to offensive, using every opportunity to knock them down. He was faster without his heavy metallic arm, as the girls found it extremely hard to attack and dodge his attacks. Doug found an opportunity and he swung the staff below their feet, tripping them. They fell down with a big thud.

"Ow!" said Maddie in pain.

"Doug, you're a meanie!" retorted Vespin, rubbing her bottom.

"Well, you can't blame me. I'm your sensei, and I'm here to teach you quick offensives and defensives," said Doug.

"Since when did you use the word 'sensei', teacher? You're not Asian," commented Maddie.

"I appreciate Asian culture," explained Doug.

"Furthermore, one of the world's experts in wushu and taekwondo," explained Vespin. Doug just did an 'I dunno' stance. Maddie sighed and face palmed.

"Ok, get up. Time for another practice," said Doug in his wise tone. Vespin and Maddie whined, but still got up and prepare for another practice session.

* * *

It was noon. The sun gleamed through the thick clouds. Terry and Ivan, who were jogging outside around the snow-covered compound of the mansion, came in, exhausted.

"I beat you Ivan. 30 rounds in 25 minutes," said Terry triumphantly. Ivan panted like a dog on a hot day; considering it was winter. Cheryl came out of the kitchen and gave them both glasses of water.

"Drink up. You're not going to expect beer now. It's reserved for lunch," said Cheryl before leaving to the kitchen again. Terry sighed and gulped down the glass of water. Ivan downed the water in one shot. Then Vespin, Maddie and Doug came back from the dojo. Ivan, being a dickhead from the exhaustion, started wooing him. Doug slapped his forehead while Maddie and Vespin were confused.

"Dammit Ivan, not again!" said Doug. Ivan just giggled. Maddie and Vespin were starting to ask questions that Doug wish he would not need to answer.  
"Doug, what's happening?" asked Maddie.

"Doug banged Vespin last night," said Ivan. Maddie had a look of suspicion against Doug. She thought that Doug may be playing with her, wanting to get into a serious relationship with her while keeping Vespin's a secret.

"I DID NOT, DICKHEAD!" retorted Doug.

"Doug, you need to accept the truth. There is no other reason for Vespin to come to your room after the movie fest," commented Ivan. Vespin's face started to glow red from the anger.

"Dude, she came to discuss things, about our team," said Doug.

"Since when did she become all powerful? Vespin, what did you give Doug to rise among the ranks? A blowjob?" asked Ivan. Maddie became flustered and left for her room. Her room door slammed shut.

"Maddie! Ivan, I'm so gonna kill you," warned Doug before going after Maddie. Vespin walked towards Ivan and grabbed him by the collar.

"Dare you say another word of this and I'm gonna cut off your wiener," said Vespin face to face before pushing him down to his chair. Then she left to get Doug.

"What a bitch," commented Ivan.

"Great, you just broke a relationship," said Terry.

"I thought Vespin and Doug were obvious," said Ivan.

"No, it's Doug and Maddie, you dumbass," said Terry. "They've been going on for a while already."

"So Doug's been two-timing?" asked Ivan.

"No, but I heard of a rumor that Doug and Vespin were connected by one incident," replied Terry.

* * *

"Maddie! Maddie! Open the door. I want to talk to you," said Doug while knocking the door. Sobs can be heard from inside the room.

"Go away! Stop bothering me!" said Maddie from inside her room. Vespin came up next to Doug and answered to Maddie.

"Maddie, we can explain," said Vespin.

"There is no need for explanation! You both are liars!" retorted Maddie.

"Maddie, you know that Ivan is a dickhead. Do you actually believe him?" said Doug.

"Then what other explanation tells that both of you are so close together?" asked Maddie.

"I think we should tell her the truth, about the team that is not supposed to exist," whispered Vespin.

"Fuck Ivan! Now word will spread," whispered Doug.

"I need the truth, now!" demanded Maddie.

"Yes, just let us in. Because this is a secret," said Vespin.

"What secret?!" demanded Maddie.

"It has to do with my twin and her sisters," explained Doug. The sobbing stopped and Maddie slowly opened the door. Her eyes red, new stream of tears starting to form.

"I'm so sorry," said Doug before hugging her. Vespin entered Maddie's room.

"Come in. No one should know about this," said Vespin. They entered the room and closed the door.

* * *


	7. Act I: Shot down

Evening came quick and the day seemed to be a lazy one. Almost everyone was asleep, except Doug. He was reassembling his custom pistol, then after that he took out a metallic tube from the drawer of his desk. He placed it into the tube at the centre of the room. The tube popped its head out, and then a holographic image of a computer desktop filled the room. He reached out his hand, selecting an icon that looks like a phone. He pressed it and phone bells ring silently.

"Come on, Rina. Pick it up," said Doug to himself. Then there was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" asked Doug as he hastily tried to keep the mini holo-computer.

"It's Maddie. Can I come in?" replied the voice. He heaved a sigh of relief and put the holo-computer back to the centre of the room. He walked to the door and creaked open the door slightly, so to make sure that was her. Indeed it was her.

"Come in," said Doug. She hurried in and Doug locked the door.

"Whoa," said Maddie in amusement as she looked at the room filled with desktop icons. Then she spots the holo-computer at the centre of the room.

"That's a secret computer that only Vespin and I knew. But since you are in it as well, you might as well know this piece of the latest technology issued by the military," explained Doug. Then the ringing noise stopped ringing and a screen appeared. Doug used his fingers to 'hold' the edges of the screen and shrunk it so that it only filled one face of the wall in his room. Then a face appeared.

"Hi, Rina," said Doug.

"Brother, now's not the perfect time for a call. It's after midnight here. I've got a mission early tomorrow," replied Rina in a sleepy tone. Her brown, wavy hair looked like a mess.

"After midnight? Weren't you still in India this morning?" asked Doug.

"We moved fast, brother. Now we are reinforcing Malaysia and Singapore, heading to assault the Australian landmass," replied Rina, before noticing Maddie next to him.

"Who is she? I bet that's not Vespin," said Rina, in her still sleepy voice.

"Of course not. Rina, Maddie. Maddie, Rina," introduced Doug. Rina opened her eyes a bit.

"You told her, didn't you?" asked Rina, in her more angry tone.

"Well, everyone's suspecting that I'm sleeping with Vespin. And you do know that rumors spread fast. It's most likely that you will hear the bad gossips about this, and the twins are not going to be so happy, am I right?" asked Doug. Rina sighed at that question.

"You do have a point. But how is she going to keep this secret?" asked Rina.

"I was an aspiring lawyer. And you can guess what lawyers do all the time," spoke up Maddie.

"I'd better hope so. Nice knowing you anyways," said Rina. Then she remembered something.

"Oh, it's you!" exclaimed Rina. "You're the girl that stole my brother's heart!"

"Yup, she sure did," replied Doug.

"Even if you didn't know about this yet, you'll find out sooner or later. My brother has a hard time keeping secrets," said Rina as she giggled. Maddie giggled along with her. Doug got irritated.

"Rina!" scolded Doug in his irritated tone.

"Can't you take a joke, brother?" asked Rina. Doug became dumbfounded. Maddie giggled harder. After the giggling has subsided, Rina spoke.

"Take care of him, Maddie. And also Vespin. You, brother, remember your task?" asked Rina.

"Yes, take care of Vespin like she was you, sister," replied Doug lamely.

"Well, gotta go. Need to catch up on my sleep," said Rina before ending the call.

"Busy as she always is," commented Doug before turning to Maddie, only to get surprised as she leaped onto him and they both landed on the bed.

* * *

"Do you love me?" asked Maddie, lying next to her new boyfriend, who seemed be soundly asleep. She caressed his naked chest and reached her hand to his face. Doug, although asleep, smiled. Maddie reached and kissed him on the lips. Doug woke up and opened his eyes.

"What time is it?" asked Doug before looking at his wristwatch. It showed 7 am.

"Morning, handsome," greeted Maddie before landing her lips on his.

"Morning, beautiful," replied Douglas, reaching out his arms to hug her.

"It's another three hours before anyone else wakes up," commented Doug.

"You hungry?" asked Maddie seductively.

"Yeah," replied Doug as he received a kiss from Maddie. They made out for the whole morning.

* * *

Weeks have passed and the break was over. The team has been prepped and they're getting ready for the next mission.

"So what they say about this mission?" asked James as the team exited the headquarters at Hamburg and heading to a transport chopper. The three Hind helicopters at the helipad, Bravo 1, 2 and 3, with its loud engines, made hearing impossible.

"WHAT!??" said Doug.

"I SAID, WHAT IS THE MISSION ABOUT?!" repeated James again, stating his question louder.

"DIDN'T YOU LISTEN!? WE'RE GOING TO ITALY, WHERE SOME OF THE FORCES ARE PUSHING FROM TUNISIA AND SICILY!" replied Doug as they entered the chopper, Bravo 1. Bravo 1 lifted off from the ground, together with its sister choppers, Bravo 2 and 3, full with TSWAT Delta operatives, started the 600-mile journey to the Italian front lines.

When the Hinds were travelling over the Alps, several attack helicopters popped up from behind the mountains.

"AH-64 Apaches! Bravo 1 taking evasive action!" said the second pilot. The Hind dived down, dodging two missiles from the Apaches. The other two used their chain-guns to hit the missiles, but one managed to fly past and hit one of the Hind's tails.

"Bravo 3's been hit. We're going down," said the helicopter.

"Good luck on the landing, comrade," said Bravo 1 before swerving to the left. Bravo 3 managed to crash-land safely at a valley in the Alps. In the passenger area, Alpha team 1 was starting to feel groggy from the twists and turns made by the pilot.

"Do you even know how to fly this piece of junk metal!?" James yelled sarcastically to the pilot as he was starting to feel sick.

"Da, they don't call us Russian pilots for nothing," said the pilot as he pulled up at a steep angle. The team was falling off their seats. They were trying to grab hold of what used to be seat belts. Maintenance had been scarce in these dark and dangerous times.

"Pilot, a little help here," said James while he and the rest were hanging to their seats. The pilot looked back.

"Whoops, sorry comrade!" said the pilot before leveling the helicopter. The pilot then radioed to Bravo 2.

"Go and get the survivors of Bravo 3. We'll take care of these fascist pigs," said the pilot.

"Roger that, comrade," replied Bravo 2 before swerving away. The pilot of Bravo 1 saw the helicopter fly away before looking at the two Apaches.

"It's two of you versus one of me," said the pilot, staring at the Apaches with determination in his eyes. The Apaches did not hesitate and fired their rockets. The Hind fired its machine guns, destroying the rockets that were aimed towards it. Then the Apaches quickly dived and appeared behind the Hind.

"You may have outrun me, but you haven't outsmarted me. Hold tight, comrades," said the pilot before diving down and speeding away. The Apaches fired at the Hind with their machine guns, but all bullets missed. The Apaches gave a chase. The Hind went into a valley, turning left and right to avoid colliding with the rock face. The two Apaches fired heat-seeking missiles at the Hind.

"That's the last mistake you'll ever make, Mr. Hitler," said the pilot as he pulled the chopper upwards, making a loop-de-loop and coming down, zooming past the Apaches. The heat-seeking missiles acquired to its new heat targets, the Apaches, and the missiles destroyed them.

"Backstabbing's a bitch, ain't it?" said the Hind pilot before slowing down and climbing back to altitude.

"You okay back there?" asked the pilot. All he got as an answer was moans of dizziness.

"Oooooookay, let's keep going," said the pilot as he made his way out of the valley to a flat, grassy plain. On the ground, several American-SS troops were observing the Hind move past. One of them aimed a Stinger at the Hind and fired. The missile was closing in fast.

"Hold on comrades, missile's a-coming!" said the pilot as he tried swerving away from the Stinger missile's path. The missile missed the body, but got its tail. The chopper started to rotate violently towards the ground.

"Hold tight! We're going to crash!" said the pilot as he tried maintaining control over the helicopter. The chopper landed with one hard thud. The American-SS troops ran towards the scene to kill off the surviving members of the crash.

Doug quickly dragged Terry and Ivan out of the burning wreck, while the others helped themselves out. It was quite a crash, but all of them escaped with minor bruises. The pilots, however, never made it. The cockpit was facing the ground when it crashed, so it was smashed to smithereens.

"Terry, Ivan, get up!" said Doug, shaking them then hearing their breath. They seemed okay; they were just unconscious.

"Cheryl, hand me some ammonia," said Doug. Cheryl opened her First Aid kit and took out a bottle of ammonia. She was about to hand the bottle when shots were fired. Doug lifted his right hand out and an invisible shield was deployed.

"Wow!" exclaimed Maddie.

"Cheryl, get them up. We'll hold them off. Everybody else, get behind me!" commanded Doug. Cheryl got into work of getting the two up while Doug and the rest were shooting at the American-SS troops. Maddie deployed her shield from her arm and tried to flank them but being showered by bullets. Ivan was brought up to life first.

"Whoa, what the fuck happened?" asked Ivan groggily before a bullet flew over his head.

"Whoa! Whoa!" He hastily grabbed his sniper rifle, ran towards and aimed from behind Maddie's shield and started sniping off the SS troops. Terry was up seconds later. He quickly turned and aimed his rifle in the opposite direction. He fired at the SS troops trying to flank them. The SS troops didn't expect that to happen, and they started to retreat. They ran off but Ivan killed every one of them so that they wouldn't report to their superiors. They all looked at the horizon. The sun is starting to sink behind the mountains.

"Let's make camp. We'll leave by tomorrow," said Doug. With the gear they brought with them; several gun clips, a Medi-kit, two tents, a camping lamp and 8 bottles of beer, they set up camp near the river at the plains.

It was 5 pm. The sun was disappearing behind the mountains. Ivan and Cheryl were at patrolling duty. Maddie sat on Douglas' lap, Vespin was sitting at a rock overlooking the horizon, James and Yee Lin were also looking at the horizon, sipping beer and holding hands, and Terry opened his bottle of beer and took a gulp.

"Hey, hadn't you notice? It's New Year's Eve," stated Terry. Doug and Maddie nodded. Terry took another gulp from his beer.

"Well, all I can say is 'Happy New Year'. Let's hope this war ends quickly," said Terry, raising his bottle before taking another gulp. Maddie and Doug just smiled. They knew another year had passed, but the war just doesn't seem to want to end yet.

"Well, a little beer wouldn't hurt," said Doug, putting his hand out, indicating for a bottle of beer. Terry reached out to his bag and took out a bottle. He opened it and handed it to Doug. Doug took a gulp and put the beer bottle down on the ground. Maddie leaned on his shoulder as they looked at the sun disappearing behind the mountains. It's a matter of time when night falls in. Doug caressed her hair and gave her a soft kiss on her head. Maddie relaxed and smiled.

"Happy New Year, love," said Doug.

Maddie giggled and replied, "You too, my only one."

* * *


	8. Act I: Briefing

It was late afternoon, at the military base at Milan. Several Eurocopter Tigers were taking off the helipads after being rearmed and refueled. Cargo planes zoomed above the base, dropping the much needed supplies on parachutes. A soldier on a watchtower at the gates spotted a group of people walking towards the base. He took out his binoculars and looked at the group of people. He quickly picked up a phone at the watchtower and called the command centre.

"Sir, I just saw Alpha 1st team coming towards us," reported the soldier before putting the phone back.

"All right! We're almost there," said Doug. The rest were dead tired after trekking the last 20 miles to the base. A truck was seen moving out from the base and towards them.

"Well, at least they have the decency to send some transport here," said James. Terry just shook his head. The transport arrived minutes later. The truck stopped beside them and the driver popped his head out through the window.

"Hey, you guys need a lift?" asked the driver.

"Thought you'd never ask," said Doug. He hopped into the truck, followed by the rest. Vespin was a bit too short to get up the truck, so Doug had to pull her up. She landed on him and blushed.

"You okay, Vespin?" asked Doug. Vespin just nodded and moved to the side. The truck started turning and moving towards the base.

* * *

"What do you mean lost!?" shouted Doug at the commander. The commander goes unmoved at this loud statement.

"Bravo 2 was sent down to retrieve the passengers of Bravo 3, tell me what happened!" shouted Doug at the commander.

"Commander Doug, I'm telling you that we've lost contact with both choppers at the Alps. We do not know what happened," replied the commander, expressionless and with a tinge of his Italian accent.

"They better not be dead, otherwise I'll have to write a report about you for losing them," warned Doug, before angrily walking out the room.

"The problems lie with the helicopter pilots, not me. I'm just in charge of this base and follow orders from the high superiors. That's all I'm going to say," said the commander. Doug gritted his teeth before slamming the door shut. He stomped out of the command centre and towards the barracks where his team were residing. He sat down before them at a long table in the barracks.

"Did we have any trace of Delta?" asked Terry.

"That bastard commander had me pissed off. He was easily shrugging off the disappearance as some form of bad luck and cares more for his safety in the base," said Doug, huffing off any anger he had in him, resting his head on his left hand. Maddie came and gave him a cup off coffee and sat beside him.

"They're going to be fine. I can sense that," said Maddie as she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Thanks Maddie," replied Doug as she started to rock him side-by-side.

"I'll go get some fresh air," said Ivan, getting up and leaving the barracks.

"Yea, us too," said the rest. They all go up and head outside the barracks, going to their own directions. Ivan heard footsteps after him. He turned around to see Vespin coming after him.

"Hi Ivan, can I walk with you?" asked Vespin with a smile. At a distance, Doug and Maddie observed her antics.

"You think they'll make a good couple?" asked Maddie. Doug shook his head.

"Naw, she's just there to find out more about him," replied Doug.

"More about him?"

"Yea, I mean, his tastes were blonds. I bet she can match-make him with one in my sister's team."

"She's a match-maker?"

"Well, you don't think Yee Lin and James came together by chance?" asked Doug, pointing towards James and Yee Lin. They were laughing together and exchanging kisses.

"Judging by their antics, they look like they'd make a good couple from the beginning," commented Maddie.

"Oh, before you were reassigned here, they're always fighting over the minute of things. There was one time they were fighting who were better, the mainland Chinese or the Singaporean Chinese. After that they never spoke for a month. It gave me headaches," explained Doug while rubbing his forehead.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Then along came Vespin, from my sister's team. Because my sister's team only allows able-bodied persons, Vespin was reassigned here, under my sister's recommendation and under the guise as a Delta operative."

"That's one of your lies," Maddie giggled when Doug gave one of his annoyed faces.

"Continuing on, Vespin brought them together like a diplomat stopping a war between nations. And well, she succeeded more that that. Their love blossom to what they are now."

"Is that the same with you and me?"

"Not really. I liked you from the time you came under my team. She just gave me tips. The rest are done by me."

"Oh, you mischievous man!" commented Maddie before landing a kiss to Doug's lips.

* * *

"What is it this time?" asked Doug. Terry was with him. The commander huffed and started talking.

"Our Eurocopter Tigers have found the wreckage of the two Hinds. There were a few survivors there, but a Nationalist Apache appeared and attacked our choppers. It didn't want us to rescue them," said the commander. Doug's face grew in annoyance.

"Do whatever it takes to get them. Every one of them is a military asset," said Doug.

"But that'll put more strain on valuable military resources we don't have. There's nothing we can do……," replied the commander before Doug grabbed him by the collar.

"There's something we must do. Lives are at stake. If we don't get them, the Italian campaign will be a lot harder. You understand that?" said Doug to the commander's face.

"I wish if high command………"

"JUST DO IT," said Doug loud and clear. The commander was stopped from giving more excuses.

"I'll get permission from high command, you rescue them, got it?"

"Okay……………you win," said the commander. Doug put him down and the commander made phone calls.

* * *

Doug was sitting by a Hind when two Eurocopter Cougars and Tigers landed nearby. Several TSWAT personnel came out of the helicopters. Some injured and carried into stretchers, others were walking by themselves. One of the Delta operatives walked towards Doug.

"Thanks for getting rescue for us. We were trapped in that valley for almost two days," said the operative.

"No problems, Rave. After all, we're all in this fight together, right?"

"Yeah, for freedom and democracy!" They both laughed about it for a while.

"Commander, I gotta go now. Anyway, thanks again," said Rave, waving goodbye while walking to his comrades. Doug just waved back. Terry walked towards Doug.

"Doug, there's a meeting coming up. This ones' from high command," said Terry.

"Thanks, Terry. Are you going to be there?"

"Nope, looks like I'm not invited in this"

"It must be hard, being from America and all"

"I don't blame them. Serving alongside you was good enough. And I think this ones' for the commanders only."

"Commanders? Must be of high importance. I'll be there shortly."

* * *


	9. Act I: The Plan

"As we all know, the Nationalists' armada is in the Mediterranean Sea, blocking our African reinforcements from pouring into Sicily. This means we have to go in without help," said the intelligence officer from the com-link.

"Can we get an estimate of the number of troops in Italy?" asked a senior commander at the table.

"It seems they're amounting to about 400,000 troops. And the numbers could rise."

"They're using the old World War II tactic," said Rave, turning heads on the meeting table.

"World War II tactic?" asked Doug, trying to get a clearer picture of what tactic would be pulled out.

"The Battle of the Bulge. The Allied offensive held the lines until the reinforcements arrive. Now, if the Germans pushed all the way to Paris, the Allied leaders would have pushed the Allied troops aside and cut it from its neck. That way, they can easily finish off the enemy forces," explained Rave. Several commanders discussed amongst themselves of this possibility.

"They're planning for us to concentrate all of our forces into Spain, so they can easily cut the neck as the troop numbers in Denmark and Italy have been fuelled into the Spanish offensive. This would have wasted all five years of effort." The commanders started to make more noise on this situation.

"Looks like you've done your history homework. Where did you get this information?" asked a commander.

"Wikipedia. Everything about it is in there," said Rave.

"So what do you propose we do?" asked the intel officer.

"I think we all know the answer to that. We have to capture Italy so that this doesn't happen," said Doug.

"It's easier said than done. As I said, they've cut our reinforcements from Africa. Most of our other battalions are stationed along the French lines so that the Nationalists can't advance any further, and the East European countries are running low on reserves. Getting troops from Asia will take too much time, so we are all by ourselves on this one," said the intel officer.

"Call every base in Italy to put every single special forces soldier into service. Our manpower should be enough to push into Rome," said Doug.

"We only amount 12,000 strong. There's no way this manpower can go against 400,000," said the intel officer.

"We never say that we're going head-to-head with 400,000."

"Then what do you propose we do?" asked a commander.

"Shock and Awe." This gave a surprise to the commanders at the meeting.

"But we don't have the firepower to use 'Shock and Awe'."

"No, we make them retreat. We snipe their heads, and they will run. I noticed that the Nationalists are using slave armies to continue fighting for their cause."

"So that means……."

"If we get the heads, the slave armies will run or surrender. We know that neither of the slaves wants to fight for the Nationalists. They're doing it because they're threatened."

"Conscription for slave armies. How sick could they be," commented Rave.

"SHOCK AND AWE! That's right! This will give shocks to the enemy's ranks, possibly even making them retreat!" said a commander.

"Everyone in favor of this plan say 'aye'," said Doug. All present agreed with the plan.  
"I'll forward this to high command. We'll get a reply by the evening," said the intel officer before shutting the com-link.

* * *

The Hinds were getting ready to get off. Troops from the Special Forces' branches have come together. TSWAT Alpha 1st squad and Delta, SAS Group F, PeaceKorps, Waffen-GSG and Spetznaz-19 have gathered to do the biggest assassination attempt on enemy forces. 12,000 Special Forces troops were going to snipe 1,300 Nationalist officers estimated in the region. But the catch was that they have to go through 400,000 troops worth of cannon fodder in order to get to the officers. Doug got into the Hind where his team was. A helicopter attendant was about to close the helicopter door when a blonde was running towards the chopper. She wore standard infantry uniform and armor, with a shotgun strapped behind her back. Doug indicated to the helicopter attendant to open the door so the blonde could get in.

"Is this going to Rome?" asked the blonde.

"Yea, hop aboard," replied Doug. The chopper started to lift from the ground in unison with other helicopters. The attack helicopters moved forward faster than their transport counterparts, in order to cover any possible strikes from the ground. The helicopters were on their way to their designated destinations all over Italy. During the flight, Doug asked the blonde girl that hopped into his team's helicopter earlier.

"I didn't catch your name," said Doug.

"The name's Alice Peach. I'm your guide through this mission. You can call me Peach," Peach replied, her Italian accent very clear.

"Okay Peach, can you tell us the situation in Rome?"

"We'll be landing at the outskirts of Rome. The Nationalists' Roman command centre is near the epicenter of the city, where the nuke hit. The radiation level is now low, so it's quite safe. We'll need to enter the city on foot though. It's too risky to get into the ruined city."

"Whatever you say, Peach."

"ETA on landing site, 10 minutes," reported the helicopter pilot. The helicopter started to descend, then go on a hover. Outside, the Eurocopter Tigers continued moving forward before turning back, making sure the area was safe. The doors opened, and the team started coming out of the door. James and Yee Lin were the first to come out, keeping heads down while aiming the surroundings with their rifles, making sure an ambush was not made to the chopper. The rest came out later; the helicopter started pulling out of the area. Now, the team was all alone, with radio silence initiated after the drop. Peach indicated at them to follow her as they enter the ruined city of Rome.

* * *

Stones and concrete littered the once busy streets of Rome. Charred metal that were once cars were overturned, lodged into deserted buildings, one atop the other. The team periodically took cover behind anything on the ground they could find; concrete slabs, wrecked vehicles and tanks, walls. Ivan, Terry and Vespin had their head up, looking and hearing for enemy snipers while Doug and the rest scoured around them for hidden enemy troops. Steel beams that looked like a cross could be seen sticking out like a sore thumb among the decimated buildings of the city across the street. Then, a murmur of a moving engine grew louder.

"Enemy tank. Everybody take cover," whispered Doug to his teammates. They all find cover in buildings and waited. The M1 Abrams tank moved past with some troops covering its sides. Doug stopped breathing as the enemies' footsteps could be heard just behind the wall. They went pass, and Doug whispered a statement through his radio.

"Don't fire. I repeat, don't fire." Ivan peeped from behind the pillar to see their movements. Peach just aimed the shotgun at the parade from a window, ready to take action if they noticed that they were here. Yee Lin tried to take a glance at the moving squad from on top of a building when she slipped and a rock fell on the ground. James quickly grabbed by her collar vest and pulled her away from the edge she was about to fall. He held her safely and ducked on the floor, falling silent. A soldier fired at the location with his rifle. The bullets penetrated through the walls, clearing way above James and Yee Lin's heads. The tank commander came out of the tank to look at the soldier firing.

"What the hell are you shooting at, soldier?!" demanded the commander.

"A rock fell down, sir," replied the soldier, pointing at the building where James and Yee Lin were hiding.

"That's nonsense, soldier. Buildings here always crumble. Get back in formation!"

"Yes sir!" The tank company kept on moving and disappeared at the junction ahead.

"Thanks James," said Yee Lin, giving him a peck on his lips. Across the street, Doug heaved a sigh of relief.

"Whew, that was lucky," thought Doug. He radioed everyone to come out when the coast is clear. They all came out and regrouped.

"I'm sorry, Doug. I tripped and almost fell. I shouldn't have taken a glance," apologized Yee Lin.

"Honey, it's not your fault," said James, smelling her hair and hugging her from the back. Terry sweat-dropped at the action.

"There's nothing to be sorry for. We're just lucky to be alive," said Doug. He then turned around to see Peach looking out for Nationalist soldiers ahead.

"We'd better move. Another scout team will come at anytime soon," said Peach. They all followed her deeper into Rome.

* * *


	10. Act I: Assassination Plot

Through the binoculars, the command centre was teeming with life, which sits in a crater where the nuke struck. Soldiers were seen marching past, some guarding the watchtowers and shining light on the ground around it, some carrying supplies to makeshift depots at the base. Tanks lined up row after row and attack choppers at a makeshift helipad took off. Doug put down his binoculars and radioed in.

"Is everyone in position?"

"Yep, we're all in," reported everyone.

"Vespin, give me a number count."

"Wow, there are far too many to count."

"Roger that. Terry, have you tapped in to their radios?"

"I've intercepted a report from them. Six commanders will be here by midnight. It's a good chance."

"Good. By 11:30, everyone is to maintain radio silence. Synchronize watches to 11:25. I want everyone out by 12:15, once the assassination is complete." Doug put the radio back to its pouch behind his back and looked through the scope of his rifle. Maddie was beside him and both of them were alone at their hiding place.

* * *

"Yee Lin, I was wondering. If this operation fails and we die, we'd miss the 'fun'. So we should have some 'fun' now," said James.

"Aw, come on. Don't be so negative. It's going to be successful," replied Yee Lin.

"Take this as a 'precautionary measure'. If we die tonight, we should at least be happy and cherish the moment," said James, sweet-talking his way into Yee Lin's mind while fiddling with her blue hair. Yee Lin just giggled.

* * *

"So, what are we going to do for the next 35 minutes?" asked Doug.

"Come on, commander. We've got a job to do," replied Maddie playfully. Doug giggled a bit and looked through his binoculars. He aimed towards a small slit on the ground where James and Yee Lin were hiding. He saw them 'getting it on'.

"Man, they're on," commented Doug. Maddie turned and looked at him in confusion.

"What?"

"They are. Wow, Yee Lin raised her leg."

"Gimme that." Maddie snatched the binoculars from Doug. Doug frowned. Maddie looked at the sight with her mouth gaping open. Doug snatched his binoculars back.

"Are you surprised? I thought we did that last …………"

"Shut up, Doug," said Maddie playfully. Doug gave her a peck on her cheeks.

"What was that for?" Maddie rubbed her flushed cheeks.

"For stealing my binoculars," said Doug, before looking at the location again. Maddie just shook her head before looking through her sniper scope.

Vespin, who was hiding with Ivan at a ruined structure a thousand yards away from the base, was trying to make a conversation with Ivan.

"So, how long have you served in the armed forces?"

"Ever since this war started"

"So, it's been five years. Then how long were you in Alpha team?"

"Why are you asking more questions? You a journalist now?" Ivan started to get annoyed.

"Hey, I was just trying to make a conversation. You don't have to be so mean."

"Now's not the time to make conversations. You know that killing them all will shorten the war?" Vespin kept quiet.

"Good, remain low while I try to get those bastards."

At another location, which was across from where Ivan and Vespin were hiding, Terry, Cheryl and Peach were looking over a ledge near the base. They were the nearest to the action, and they had a completely clear view of the field. Sadly, it's too late for the snipers to know about this. Terry spotted the convoy entering the compound. The convoy was escorted by a new kind of vehicle that looks like it was pulled out from The Matrix. It had a pilot controlling humanoid machines that had machine guns as hands and walked on two legs. Even Doug was surprised that the Nationalists had that in their arsenal. Vespin pressed a button on her cyborgs' eye to take a video record of the beast. Nevertheless, the team remained unmoved on their assassination plan. Everyone started counting down.

"10"

"9"

"8"

"7"

"6"

"5"

"4"

"3"

"2"

"1"

In unison, they sniped all the commanders who were at the scene that were about to enter the tent. The army got into disarray. The new war machines started moving about, finding for the assassins. The ground troops started moving into all locations, searching for any hiding spots around the area.

"Ok, it's our turn now," said Terry, and all three of them came out of the barricade and fired at the pilot of one of the machines. The pilot was killed, and the troops near it spotted them. Terry, Cheryl and Peach ran away, distracting the other machines to follow them. When most of the troops at the base left, the rest came out of their hiding places and killed the rest. They were willing to do more than just killing the commanders. They've set up charges around the base, and then leaving the base. With a push of a button the base blew in a bright orange that filled the night sky.

"That one bases less to take care off," commented Doug. The rest of the team scuttled off away as far as possible, to a rally point they decided. After reaching the rally point, all they had to do was wait.

* * *

Running from Nationalist forces was no easy task. They keep catching up on you as you try to lose them. That's the situation with Terry, Cheryl and Peach. The machines the Nationalist forces had were hot on their trail. Soldiers were not seen for a while although they had been chasing them for almost an hour. Terry tapped into the Nationalist's radio signals and heard they're coming in with airstrike against them. But there was one piece of news that put a smile on Terry's face despite the situation. He heard that all the officers in the region have been assassinated, but left a few corporals who now couldn't control their slave armies. That explains why the foot soldiers that were on their trail were slowly dispersing away, using the pursuit as a form of escaping Nationalists' grasps.

"Hah! Come get us with your dwindling numbers, you fascist pigs!" yelled Terry at the mechs before turning at a corner. They all hid behind a building to lose the mechs the Nationalists were using to track them, and also to catch their breath.

"Everyone here?" asked Terry.

"All body parts intact," replied Cheryl, huffing away. Peach just wiped her forehead. Then they heard a sound of machine rotating faster and faster. They all lie face flat on the ground as the mech that found them shot through the walls with thousands of bullets. Not risking a minigun overheat, the minigun stopped, and the mech waited there for blood to flow from the corner. But from behind the corner, Terry pulled the bolt on his rifle and looked ready to strike back.

"Ready?" asked Terry. Cheryl and Peach gave a nod. Terry then leaps out of the corner, firing at the mech, but missed the driver. The driver tried to fire at Terry, but Cheryl peeked out of the corner and shot the arms. The driver turned the mech around, but felt a gun pointing on his head.

"Sogni d'oro, figlio di puttana!" said Peach before firing a shot on his head, blood splattering all over her. She pumped her shotgun and a bullet case came out.

"Okay, any one can ride this?" said Peach, standing triumphantly on the downed machine.

"Damn, you are fast!" commented Terry, recovering from the ground. Cheryl wiped her sweat over her forehead.

"No one knows a shotgun like I do," said Peach. Then another mech appeared behind Cheryl. Cheryl turned around to see the minigun already rotating, going to spew out lead from its six barrels. Everything went in slow motion for her. Peach leaped from the first mech and got in front of the second mech, firing a few shots as she landed from being airborne. The shells burst the poor bugger's head, giving a new meaning to the word 'headless zombies' as the body still controls the machine. The machine acts as though on its own free will, but died down soon after. Terry was impressed by her marksmanship. The two girls celebrated the moment.

"Rather than standing around celebrating this minute victory, we should be going. The helicopter arrives in three hours," stated Terry.

"Well, aren't you going to steal one of these mechs? This could be valuable for our continuous war against the Nationalists," stated Cheryl. Terry sighed and hopped on the mech, removing the carcass lodged in the exoskeleton of the mech, then commandeering the mech on his own. The start was a bit shaky, but he managed to gain control of it.

"Hop on. This will take us to the rally point faster," said Terry.

* * *


	11. Act I: Extraction

Doug looked at his watch nervously. It had already been three hours since the assassination, and Terry and his distraction team hasn't arrived. He was afraid that they may have been KIA or MIA. That was news he wished not to report to his superiors. Losing a comrade may not be heartbreaking, but brings grave consequences as he was team leader. He saw past team leaders demoted for the loss of life, and he was feeling he was next. Then Vespin came running towards him.

"Commander, an enemy mech is coming towards us," she reported. Doug took his binoculars and looked through. The mech was pointing at the hill where they wait, and saw several rocket pods coming out from its back.

"Take cover! Rocket barrage!" he yelled. Everyone ran to the nearest cover, a rock, a trench, anything they could find. Vespin tripped and fell down hard on the ground. Doug saw that while running for cover and he turned back to get her. The rockets came wailing down upon them. Doug knew there wasn't enough time to get out, so he opened his x-ray shield from his robotic arm and aimed it upwards. He could see the rockets hitting his x-ray shield, exploding with shrapnel flying in all directions. Vespin could only hold her head down on the ground with the deafening sounds of the explosion loud enough to burst ear drums. Doug didn't feel safe with his new x-ray shield. It was still new and it felt like it was malfunctioning after all the blasts. The Maddie came forward with the stronger metallic shield from her robotic arm.

"Thanks," said Doug.

"Don't mention it," replied Maddie. Then the rocket stopped coming. Doug assumed the machine was reloading, so he quickly drew out his rifle and rushed for a place to fire. When he reached the spot, he saw another mech tearing up the first mech, then turned to Doug at the hill. Terry came out and waved.

"You better have a good explanation for this," muttered Doug. Then he heard a moan not far. He went and saw Vespin at where Ivan was. Shrapnel appeared to have hit Ivan's right knee. Blood bled out of his wound quite quickly and poured on the soil. Ivan moaned as the pain was unbearable. Doug quickly instructed Vespin to apply pressure on the wound.

"Is Cheryl there? We need her here quick," radioed Doug. The mech, with its two other passengers, rushed to site. Cheryl got off the mech as soon as it reached there and looked at Ivan's knee. She quickly opened her Medi-kit, took a bandage and wrapped it around the knee. Then she disassembled her rifle, took the nozzle of the rifle and tied it to Ivan's leg so that the leg doesn't bend.

"Hold still, Ivan. We're going back," said Cheryl in her 'motherly' voice. Ivan kept moaning at the pain. Cheryl got him up and put his head over her shoulder.

"It's okay, crybaby. Hold still. Help is coming," said Cheryl, holding him tight, comforting him. The drone of the helicopter engines became louder and louder as the helicopter approaches the drop zone. The helicopter landed and some soldiers came out to secure the landing zone. One soldier was amazed when he saw the pilotless Nationalist mech.

"Get that thing rigged up, soldier. We're taking this valuable intel back to HQ. Get a stretcher too. One is down," said Doug, pointing at the mech and Ivan. The soldier nodded in agreement and ordered his comrades to help him. Before long, the chopper was ready to lift off with its precious cargo and leave the area.

* * *

"How is he?" asked Doug, worried about his comrade Ivan Gredenko. His six hour surgery had just ended. The field surgeon came out of the room, looking disappointed. He had to break the news to Doug.

"The shrapnel shattered most of his knee. There's nothing we can do but put a cybernetic knee as a replacement. It's going to be a long recovery," explained the surgeon. Doug just nodded in agreement. Maddie was there with Doug.

"You can visit him now, but it's about time the meds will kick in. He'll need a rest. Make it short," continued the surgeon before leaving. Doug and Maddie, still in their uniform, went in to see Ivan. Ivan was barely awake.

"How are you feeling?" asked Maddie. Ivan blurry looked at them a d spoke.

"I'm fine. I just can't feel my leg," replied Ivan, trying to lift his injured knee.

"Don't, Ivan. You're still recovering. The surgeon said that your knee was shattered and needed to be replaced by a cybernetic one. Don't worry, you'll get used to it," said Doug.

"Wonders in technology, eh? If not, I would've lost a leg," said Ivan.

"Yeah, but it didn't come early enough for Yee Lin," remarked Doug.

"Right, I'll remember that," thanked Ivan before the medication kicked in and started snoozing.

"Come on, let's go," said Doug to Maddie and they left the room for Ivan to rest.

* * *

The lights dimmed. The meeting room became quiet. Several field commanders were chatting amongst themselves, later turning to look at the projectors. A man of high authority came into the room. He had several medals hanging on his coat. The field commanders stood up to salute. The man saluted back and ordered everyone to sit. Then he began introducing himself.

"I'm Field Marshal Anthony Krushcev, the high commander for the Russian and European divisions. I have gathered all of you to this briefing on our final push into Portugal. This is what we all have been fighting for," said the Russian general. Everyone listened diligently. The general cleared his throat to continue.

"As you can see comrades, we have taken most of Europe. Just a few weeks ago, our divisions have managed to take control over Spain. With incoming pressure from the Nationalist forces, the time is now to get rid of their foothold in Europe. With that, they'll be fighting for a lost cause," pointed the general at the projected map of Europe with little icons to represent infantry, tank, naval and air forces in the region. The icons were moving slowly around the map, showing movement of military forces. The blue represents the Eurasians while black represent the Nationalists.

"With these incoming naval forces, it is estimated to be at 2300 hours before fresh Nationalist reinforcements arrive on Portuguese shores. We'll try to hold them off long enough with our Navy, but we can't guarantee a success. We have to capture the ports that facilitate and supply the Nationalist cause in Europe so that the rest of their European force will be decapitated. It will take too much of the Nationalists if they were to recapture the ports we hold."

"It's time to hang them out to dry," remarked a commander.

"So, what do you propose to do, general?" asked another commander.

"This final push will inflict a lot of casualties on both sides, but it's the only way. We're going to Para drop all over Portugal to seize their last foothold." The meeting room fell silent.

"All of you will be assigned to capture different ports in Portugal. The drop will commence at 1600 hours. Good luck and Godspeed."

* * *


	12. Act I: Capture

The aircraft was packed with soldiers. Most were from the British 21st paratrooper battalion, the same battalion Doug and his team worked with at Carentan. Doug looked at his teammates. All but one was present. Ivan was still recuperating at the hospital on his wounded leg. Missing on their best sniper, the whole team had to rely on Maddie. The pressure was on for her to take over Ivan's place to ensure the team came back alive. Maddie shivered in anxiety at that thought. Doug was there to comfort her. Then they heard explosions from outside the aircraft. The Nationalists were shooting with everything they've got on the aircraft. The plane rocked as one of the explosions hit near the plane. The green light was given and the doors at the back of the plane opened.

"Go! Go! Go!" shouted the soldier manning the door. The soldiers jumped off the plane, and skydived towards the ground. Doug's team managed to make a jump from the plane before the plane was hit with a rocket. Doug saw the tail of the plane had caught on fire and now plummeting down towards the ground. The plane crashed with a faint explosion at a distance. Doug checked his altitude meter and it pointed to the level where the parachute was to be deployed. He deployed his chute and floated down. He saw his other teammates at a distance with their chute deployed as well. As they approached the ground, gunfire was aimed at them. The persistent Nationalist troops tried to shoot them down, but missed. Then a hail of bullets hit Vespin's chute, poking holes, letting air out too quickly. Vespin started to fall too rapidly and uncontrollably towards the ground. She started to drift further and further away from the rest of the team. Doug thought fast and getting ready to cut himself from the chute's harness. He was 30 feet from the ground when he cut the harness. He freefall down and put his robotic hand in front of him. Using its hardiness, he used the hand to cushion his fall. The combined weight of the arm and him left a dent on the ground. Cracks formed on the outer rim of the hand. Then he flipped to his feet and started running towards Vespin's landing location. Maddie saw him run, so she followed soon after. The others were too slow to land; they couldn't catch up with them. Doug radioed to Terry on the situation.

"Maddie and I are going to save Vespin. Terry, you assume control and go to the target zone," said Doug loud and clearly. A response came in.

"Roger that. Good luck." He then turned to Maddie who was right behind him.

"Let's hope we're not too late," commented Doug. They both ran up the hill to the town not far from the landing zone.

* * *

Vespin landed hard. She was okay, but she realized she was deep in enemy territory. She dumped her tattered chute and took out the sniper rifle she borrowed from Ivan and ran up to the nearest structure. From a window, she peered out to only find Nationalist troops searching her landing site. They wore different uniform compared to the basic infantry she fought before. They were more padded, and had more gear on the head compared to the rifle they were carrying. She knew what wing of the Nationalist military would wear such gear.

"Navy Stormtroopers," she muttered under her breath. Then a Stormtrooper looked towards her direction. She hid well, but the Stromtrooper's thermo-sensor tracked her.

"Over there!" exclaimed the Stormtrooper. His teammates turned to where he was pointing. Vespin took a shot from the sniper rifle. It hit his head, but he wasn't instantly killed. The soldier got up from a heavy headache. They fired upon her as they neared her hiding place. She took another shot, but these troops were like robots. They didn't seem to be affected by the shots. The bullets continued to hail on her. As they entered her building, she quickly jumped out of the window and landed on the ground. The shock from the land injured her leg bad, and she could only limp as quickly as possible. The troopers came out of the building and started firing at her. She ducked for cover behind a concrete slab and fired back. The troopers fired at her position, pinning her down. She could barely shoot back. Then a trooper who sneaked from behind took the stock of his rifle and knocked her out cold. She didn't see it coming. The troopers stopped firing and they all converge on her, taking her prisoner, binding her hands then carrying her to an empty building.

* * *

A splash of cold water woke her up. Her forehead, arms and legs were bruised; her hands bound behind her back. She looked up and found herself in a building with parts of the walls destroyed. She also saw her captors without their visors. One of them was an officer. The officer indicated to his other subordinates to leave them alone. The officer then grabbed her by her neck and pulled her up from the ground. Vespin gasped for breath as the officer tightens his grip on her throat. Then he spoke.

"How many were you in Portugal?" he asked. Vespin looked away and ignored him. He forcefully used his hand to turn her head to face him. His face got closer to hers and repeated his question.

"HOW MANY WERE YOU!?" he yelled, his voice echoing around town. Vespin spat at the officer's face in disgust, still refusing to answer. The officer gave her a hard punch on the abdomen, which immediately made her fall to her knees. She coughed out some blood from that solid punch. The officer walked around her, observing her in pain. He then spoke again.

"Y'know, if you weren't so cute, I would've punched you in the face," he commented. Vespin did not look at the officer, instead looking at the ground, thinking what to do and about what he meant. The officer then grabbed her by her collar and threw her to the wall. Her head hit the wall hard. A cut formed on the side of her forehead. Then he came close to her and spoke again.

"If you don't tell us, then I'll have to force it out of you. I'm going to fuck you with a dick as hard as that punch. You'll gonna beg for me to stop and I won't. I'm going to torture you and make you be my sex slave, and you're going to die from too much pain. I hope you make a right decision; you have ten seconds at it." Vespin quickly stood up and landed kicks at his stomach, but it seems to do little. Those kicks managed to make him budge by an inch or so. The officer recovered, landing a slap on her cheek. She was thrown to the wall and the officer pushed her face at the wall.

"You like it rough, don't cha?" said the officer as he held her head against the wall, spreading her legs and unzipping his pants. He was about to jam it in her when a shot rang and hit his 'little friend'. He moaned in pain and another shot went straight through his skull. From up the hill, Maddie was looking through the crosshair of her sniper rifle. She pulled the bolt of the rifle before commenting.

"Such a fuckface."

Doug rushed to the scene with his rifle in hand, aiming and shooting at the Stormtroopers. The shots hit directly at their necks, instantly killing them. Then a trooper tried to strike Doug from behind, but Doug reacted quickly'. He dropped his rifle, turned around and used his robotic arm and punched through the trooper; blood sprays from the arteries of the trooper like water from a fire hydrant; covering Doug's face with blood. When the trooper was completely dead, he pulled his arm out of the body and wiped his face. The blood stains still persist, although most of it had been wiped off. He then picked up his rifle and rushed to Vespin, who slumped to the ground after the attempted rape. She had a blank expression, nearly as lifeless as the dead officer she was with. Doug slowly approached her and called her out.

"Vespin, it's all right. It's over," he tried to coax her. He could see her quiver in fear as the trauma had a deep impact in her. This could mean this would not be the same Vespin as she used to.

"Vespin….," called Doug as he tried to approach her. He tried to touch her but she started edging away from Doug. Maddie arrived soon after. She saw that Doug was having a hard time communicating with a traumatized rape victim. Maddie came closer and spoke with her.

"Vespin, it's me, Maddie. Doug and I are your friends." Doug came closer and came next to Maddie. Vespin looked up at them and opened her mouth. Having nothing to say, her eyes welled up, and she burst into tears. She hugged them both and cried on their shoulders. Doug and Maddie patted her back to comfort her. Doug muttered a few words to her ear.

"I made a promise, and I'll fulfill that promise."

After a while, with her dams dried up, Vespin got up and picked up the sniper rifle that was left at the town.

"Are you sure you can go on?" asked Doug.

"Yes, I can. The quicker we move, the faster this war ends," replied Vespin, with faint sobs in between.

"That's the spirit," commented Maddie. The all left the deserted town and head to the Portuguese port.

"Hey, can I ask you a question? How did you know that the only weak point of the Navy Stormtroopers was the neck?" asked Maddie.

"It's a long story, Maddie. It is the story behind this robotic arm……," said Doug.

* * *


	13. Act I: Final Push

It was 7pm. The sky is getting dark. Gunshots flew past Terry's head. The Nationalists were putting a hard last fight over the port. Some bodies of the 21st paratrooper battalion lay sprawled on the ground. Some bodies were missing heads. A soldier wailing in pain as a mortar shell hit near him and his intestines were flowing out from his body like spaghetti being poured out from a bowl. A paramedic was there to attend him but was shot in the head soon after. The Nationalists had machine gun emplacements atop warehouses and cranes of the port, pinning the teams down with hot lead. Terry looked up from a trench and fired a few shots at the emplacements. But they were too far to be accurate and a rain of bullets didn't make it easier. Then a missile flew past and hit the crane filled with machine guns. The crane began tumbling down with its occupants trapped. Terry looked behind, only to see a familiar face.

"I told you we'd meet again."

Yulie, Eric and Nicky quickly got into the trench to avoid getting shot by snipers. Machine gun fire from the warehouse kept them down.

"I see some missing members. Where's Doug?" asked Yulie.

"He and Maddie go to save Vespin. Ivan's injured," said Terry through the noise of ricocheting bullets. He then also noticed some missing members of Yulie's team.

"You?"

"They didn't make it from Gibraltar."

"Sorry about that."

"Don't be. There were far more good soldiers that died in this war. They were just part of it." Another mortar hit close by the trench. They all covered their heads as the dirt rained down on them.

"Nicky, missile them," commanded Yulie. Nicky came out and aimed the launcher at the warehouse. A shot came and hit him at the side of the neck. He immediately dropped the weapon, then slumping back into the trench. He held his wounded neck and screamed in pain as the blood started sprouting out from the wound.

"Medic! Cheryl, get here quick!" shouted Terry across the trench. Cheryl was attending to a soldier with another two medics to stop the bleeding from a fragmentation grenade when her service was needed. She looked at the Alpha team and saw Nicky in pain.

"Put pressure on the wound! I'll be there shortly!" shouted Cheryl. Then she turned to the ailing soldier.

"Do you think you can handle it?" asked Cheryl. The other two medics nodded and continued to work on the soldier. Cheryl started running towards the team, passing through a few soldiers who one of them was shot on the head, but was saved by his helmet. He quickly ducked in and checked his helmet to see a bullet lodged into the synthetic helmet. She passed another soldier who was about to launch a rocket at the warehouse, but was killed instantly. One bullet narrowly missed her head as she raced to Nicky.

"Where has he been hit?" asked Cheryl and Nicky showed the neck wound.

"I need people to put pressure on it while I inject the morphine." The team followed, Yulie putting pressure on the wound as Cheryl stuck the morphine through his leg. Nicky continued to scream in pain.

"Shut up, will you?! You're not making it easier," scolded Cheryl as she looked into the neck wound.

"You're lucky, it's a clean cut. Bad news, it hit one of you arteries. Don't worry, I'll fix you up," said Cheryl. She injected anesthetic into the neck, then wrapping the wound up. Then she added more morphine so that his nervous system won't drive him to an epileptic shock.

"Someone needs to take care of his neck until help arrives." But help did not arrive. The planes were kept off the skies, the artillery were halted halfway by Nationalist forces. Help doesn't look like its going to arrive in time.

"Hang on, Nicky. We're going to make it," said Yulie, giving words of encouragement. Then a few shots from behind came and hit the occupied warehouses. Terry looked behind and smiled. Doug, Maddie and Vespin had arrived. They rushed into the trench.

"What's the situation?" asked Doug.

"Snipers are everywhere. Gunners are stopping us from finding them. One man down," replied Terry.

"Got it. Vespin, get those snipers. Maddie, you take care of the gunners. Terry, Yee Lin, James, follow me. Yulie, Eric, provide us covering fire." Everyone understood and nodded. Doug gave a signal to follow him. Yulie and Eric aimed and fired at the warehouse to keep the machine gunners busy.

"I was excellent sniper, but you guys had to take it away from me," mumbled Vespin as she took a shot. It hit one of the snipers through his scope, with the bullet going through his head.

"It cost me an arm to get this far," mumbled Maddie, taking a shot at a gunner. He was instantly killed. Cheryl was still running around in the trench, attending to one soldier after another. Casualties were high in this assault. Meanwhile, Doug and his small team made it near the warehouse where the gunners were.

"James, grenade," commanded Doug. James pulled the pin out, gave it to Doug, then Doug threw it through the window. The window blew out together with two Nationalist soldiers. Yee Lin and Terry shot the soldiers as they fell down. Back at the trench, Yulie carried the Javelin launcher from Nicky and aimed at the warehouse.

"Fire in the hole!" she said, launching the missile at the warehouse. The missile impacted the warehouse, evacuating all its occupants. For the first time in three hours, the guns fell silent. The soldiers cheered and moved out from the trench, rushing towards the nearest structure for cover. The remnants of the Nationalist troops rushed for cover but pulling back, showing that the Eurasian forces were winning the battle. They managed to push them until the docks, the last refuge of the Nationalist forces. When the Eurasian forces reached the docks, they saw something that shouldn't be there. The mechs that were used in Italy were used here, all 15 available in the continent. The mechs mowed down some of the troops from the 21st paratrooper battalion while the others went into hiding. One of the mechs opened its rocket pods and fired at the port buildings the Eurasian forces were hiding. The rockets hit the building of the 21st paratrooper battalion, causing the building to crumble down. Only a few survived the rocket attacks. Alpha 1st team regrouped as the mechs began their search and destroy.

"Maddie, Vespin, get into that building. We'll divert them robots," commanded Doug, pointing at a port authority building nearby. Doug and the rest of the teams ran out and diverted the mechs away, giving opportunity for the girls to get there. As soon as they got up there, they set up their sniper rifles and aimed for the drivers.

The mechs continued to chase after the team, who was running back to the trench where Nicky lay injured with Eric and Yulie.

"Fire the missile!" shouted Doug. Yulie locked the launcher at the mech's rocket pods.

"Say hello to my dead teammates in heaven," she commented as she fired the missile. The missile hit the rocket pods, detonating the remainder rockets in the tubes. It led to a huge explosion causing it to break into pieces and came crashing down.

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall," commented James. Another one appeared from behind a building and fired its mini guns. Everyone ducked in the trench while Doug used his invisible shield to defend himself from bullet fire.

"Doug, get in here!" exclaimed Yulie.

"Wait a minute…….," replied Doug. Then the machine stopped firing. Up at the building, Maddie was looking through the scope of her smoking rifle.

"Too easy."

She saw her teammates down below like ants taking triumph on a grasshopper. Her teammates later rushed to the adjacent buildings to try take down the other mechs in operation. Vespin took a shot, and another mech falls to its knees. Maddie turned to Vespin.

"Nice shot," commented Maddie.

"Thanks," replied Vespin. Maddie thought of something to say while they take care of the cannon fodder.

"I noticed you like Doug," Maddie stated. Vespin blushed.

"No!" shot back Vespin.

"There's nothing that I don't know. Your face tells everything."

"Ok, I admit. But he loves you; I'm won't compete for him." Vespin took a shot at another mech.

"It's not that….he told me he kept his sister a promise, to treat you as family. Even after the war, you're welcome to the family." Maddie took a shot at a hidden sniper.

"Okay…..wait. A family? You mean…?" asked Vespin surprised.

"Yes, we are getting married after this operation," replied Maddie, showing a ring with the German Iron Cross decorated around the ring. Vespin's jaw dropped. Then something attracted Vespin's attention. She quickly aimed at a crane at the docks and shot a sniper aiming at them.

"No time for surprises. If we don't do this quick, there won't be a wedding to celebrate," said Vespin. Maddie nodded and stared through her scope.

Down on the ground, Doug and his teammates rushed to the nearest building to the Nationalist last line of defense. The machine gun fire and mortars were pounding them hard, but were all misses. The Nationalists' desperate way to win the assault had hampered their accuracy. The remaining mechs were disabled and the last of the Nationalist soldiers were cleared out with grenades and flash bang grenades. The team ran towards the trenches to search for any survivors. All the dead bodies filled the trenches and the stink was unbearable. Maddie and Vespin came down and regrouped with the team.

"Nice job. Now to finish it," said Doug. They began going for the cranes to plant the C4s but suddenly gunfire from behind took them by surprise. Maddie and Doug quickly deployed their shields to defend the team from gunfire as more Nationalist troops appeared before them. They started firing at the soldiers, but they seemed more experienced than the basic soldiers and even tougher than the Navy Stormtroopers despite not having much gear. They carried rifles that had a very high rate of fire and had agility that supersedes the Stormtroopers. But a symbol made them the most feared even among the Nationalists ranks. A symbol used by the Germans during World War II, the double S. The American-SS soldiers had arrived.

Doug was having a hard time, since he knew everything about the American-SS troops. They had agility that made them nearly impossible to defeat, having no known weaknesses as Canadian and Brazilian battalions early in the war were decimated by them. But these troops don't have numbers on their side, so they were rare in warzones outside the country. These were those rare moments that the Nationalists have deployed these 'shinobis' in the theatre of war. The team struggled to hit the SS troopers, but they proved too fast to hit. They started to pull back when something fell off the sky.

"What the..?" muttered the surprised Terry as the 'thing' hit the ground hard. The thing was a man with silver hair and carrying Akimbo Mac-10s. The man fired, hitting the SS troopers in the leg, making them more vulnerable to attack. The man turned around and astounded everyone. It was Ivan.

"Hey, I'm back!" said Ivan, sporting some kind of exoskeleton armor around him, glowing dark blue. The team cheered and started firing at the downed SS troopers.

"Hit them in the legs, then the head. This came from intel," said Ivan as the team moved forward to face the SS troopers. Ivan stopped Vespin who was going together with the team.

"Wait, I believe these belong to you," said Ivan, handing the Mac-10s to Vespin.

"This belongs to you too," said Vespin, handing his sniper rifle. They switched weapons and began attacking the SS troops. Now with their secrets out, the SS troops were no longer invulnerable to attack. The troopers had been killed, and the team quickly planted the C4s on the cranes and the docks. They moved to a distance and Terry pushed the trigger and the docks blew up with orange filling the already night sky. It was a few minutes to 10:30 pm and had half an hour to spare. Knowing the port had been captured, Doug radioed in for reinforcements.

"The port has been captured. Send reinforcements," said Doug. Then the ground rumbled and a huge mech appeared from the end of the port. This was bigger than the mechs they faced and looked like it's pulled out from the manga 'Gundam'. It had energy cannon on its left side, auto cannon on its right side and rocket pods at the top of the torso. In between the rocket pods was a head, where the assumed pilot was controlling the monster.

"Damn, they read too much comic books," commented Ivan. The mech charged up its energy cannon, then firing at the team. The team spread out, evading the energy weapon and went into hiding. The huge mech spots James and Yee Lin and fired its missiles. It hit them, sending them flying and hitting a container. But they however escaped with a few bruises. Then Maddie and Vespin tried to take the driver out, which was in the head. The mech spots them and fired its energy cannon at them. The blast was so bright that Doug couldn't see them.

"Maddie! Vespin!" yelled Doug as he tried to rush for them, but was held back by Terry and Ivan. The mech soon turned to the trio and fired its auto cannon. The all hid behind Doug's shield, having proven to withstand rocket blasts. Then the mech charged up its energy cannon, ready to strike the trio. But then the mech was hit by an artillery shell, knocking it off balance, but it got steady on its feet. It came to meet its contender, a two-legged mech that has three cannons and a pilot cockpit at the side. The big mech radioed in to Doug.

"This is the Headhunter squad. We're here to take care of the mech," crackled the radio. The mech fired another volley at the Nationalist mech and the mech crumbled down to dust. Terry and Ivan cheered, but Doug rushed towards where Vespin and Maddie were. He arrived to found that both of them were okay, but Maddie's head was bleeding and part of the metal arm she had was torn apart. Maddie was unconscious.

"What happened?" asked Doug.

"She hit her head pretty hard. The shield didn't stand against the energy cannon. We need an ambulance quick!" replied Vespin. Doug radioed in.

"Send in the emergency crews, we've got people down! I repeat! People down!" alarmed Doug on the radio. A few minutes later, a military ambulance came by to pick up the injured soldiers. The medical crews came with stretchers and inspect her. They quickly lifted her to the stretcher and ran to the military ambulance. Inside was a few of the 21st paratrooper battalion, Nicky and Cheryl. Cheryl was telling the military doctors the diagnosis she undertook, so that the treatment could be carried out immediately. Doug called for Cheryl to run a diagnosis on Maddie.

"Cheryl, Maddie looks badly hit. Give a quick diagnosis, please," pleaded Doug. Cheryl looked at Maddie for a while, and then gave a conclusion.

"She had a minor concussion. The hospital would be able to get her up," she concluded. Then she called for a paramedic. A young paramedic ran towards her, panting after so many casualties.

"Give this the top priority. We don't want the concussion to become a coma," said Cheryl. The young paramedic nodded and led Maddie into the military ambulance. The ambulance raced out of the area until it disappeared into a fog of dust. Doug could only hope she's okay. Vespin came up to him and comforted him.

"She's going to be fine. Trust me," said Vespin, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks, Vespin," replied Doug.

"Come; let's clean this place up quickly. The sooner we finish, the faster we can get to the hospital," said Vespin. Doug nodded. They met up with the rest of the team.

"Ok guys; let's help fortify this port. We have 15 minutes before the enemy reinforcements arrive," said Doug.

"Need extra hands? Thought we could be of help," asked Yulie, with Eric behind her.

"Sure, come aboard," replied Doug.

* * *


	14. Act I: European Ultimatum

Maddie woke up to find herself in a hospital bed, the evening sun shining brightly in the sky, giving an orange haze. A nurse on duty came to her when she woke up.

"How are you, miss?" asked the nurse, clad in the usual white uniform. She had a Spanish accent.

"Where am I?" asked Maddie.

"You are at the Cordoba General Hospital. You have been out for a day," said the nurse. Maddie nodded. She noticed a stack of roses on her bedside table, her favorites, blooming. The nurse noticed her looking at the flowers.

"A fine, young man put these here," said the nurse. Maddie smiled as she knew who it was. Then the doctor came in with someone behind him.

"Madeline, you're awake. You have a visitor," said the doctor as he made way for the visitor. Maddie smiled once again. It was Doug. He sat at the bedside and held her hand.

"I'll leave you two alone," said the doctor and both the nurse and doctor left the room.

"How are you feeling?" asked Doug, gripping her hand.

"A little weak," replied Maddie as she tried to get up.

"Don't. It's okay."

"I missed you."

"I missed you too. By the way, I have a surprise for you." Doug summoned a priest in.

"Maddie, this is Father Patrick Lahm. And he will be uniting us in holy matrimony," said Doug.

"You mean, we're getting married now?!" Maddie was surprised with tears of joy streaming down her cheeks.

"Yes, my beloved wife," said Doug. Maddie sniffled.

"Shall we begin, Mr. Kreig?" asked the priest. Doug and Maddie nodded.

"Witnesses?" asked the priest. Vespin, James and Yee Lin came in.

"We have gathered here today, to witness the unification of this man and this woman in holy matrimony. Will you, Douglas Kreig, take this woman, to love her and care for her for as long as you shall live?" stated the priest.

"I do," said Doug, staring straight into Maddie's eye.

"Will you, Madeline Oon, take this man, to love him and care for him for as long as you shall live?" stated the priest.

"I do," said Maddie; a fresh stream of tears streamed down her cheeks. Doug wiped them off.

"Then you may kiss the bride," said the priest. They both embraced each other and kissed passionately. James, Vespin and Yee Lin clapped their hands at the joyful event. After a while, Doug looked up at the people who were present.

"If you don't mind, can you leave us?" asked Doug. The rest nodded and left.

"What do we do now?" asked Maddie.

"Well, we ARE both alone," replied Doug. They both embraced each other as the sun sets.

* * *

END ACT I

* * *


	15. Act II: The Middle East

"_Political power grows out of a barrel of a gun." Mao Zedong._

Part III: The Eastern Front

_(Events during the third year to fifth year at war)_

The sun shone brightly in the cloudless sky. The desert heat can be punishing; high temperatures and low humidity. A group of Nationalist troops were carrying supplies on camelbacks, walking across the Arabian Desert to reach their destination; the Nationalist-controlled city of Baghdad. A radio signaled in to one of the soldiers.

"Better hurry your sorry ass here or we're going to kick it for ya. Our invasion on the city of Jerusalem is tomorrow," reported the radio.

"Yes sir," replied the soldier in exhaustion. He took out his canteen and started drinking from it. As soon as the canteen reached his mouth, a bullet came passing through his head.

"Incoming fire!" yelled one of the soldiers as they took cover behind the camels. Several people with rifles that look quite futuristic for its time came out from behind the dunes and fired at the troops. They were wearing a cloth over their heads and face; the goggles were the only things visible. They were wearing Kevlar, skirts and boots; much too informal for a normal soldier or conscript. The insurgents tried not to shoot the camels, just the infantry that manned them.

"I chose a bad day to die," commented one of the Nationalist soldiers as he fired at the incoming insurgents. The insurgents shot him, with a bullet directly through his head. Then the insurgents ran down the dunes and shot the soldiers in close quarters. One tried to escape, but one of the insurgents tripped him down and stabbed him with a knife. After killing the man, the insurgent took out the cloth that covered the face and lifted the goggles up. It appears to be a young, Caucasian girl, with waist-length brunette hair and a very tall build. She commanded her teammates.

"Ok girls. Take these supplies to Jerusalem," she commanded. The others also removed their covers, revealing themselves to be an all-female team. A blonde Caucasian girl with her hair tied up to a bundle spoke.

"Roger that, Rina," said the blonde girl. A tomboyish Asian girl with short black hair asked.

"Why do we need this, Arthuria?" she asked. The blonde girl turned to the black haired girl.

"Because we're depriving them of their resources, Saya. Furthermore, it would be of good use to us," she replied. Saya nodded in agreement.

"Quickly, we must go now or their choppers will be here any minute," said Rina. They all quickly left with the camels.

* * *

They received a hero's welcome at Jerusalem, where Israeli and Middle Eastern troops were united for one thing; the fight for freedom. The troops quickly helped them unload the camels; there were enough supplies and armament to last them for 3 weeks. An Arabian commander came forth to thank them.

"Rina, you and your team did well. This war has brought us closer together after 80 years of war fighting over land that can be shared," said the commander, pointing at all the Arabians and the Israelis. Then Rina spoke.

"We don't have all day, Al Said. We intercepted a message, telling all Nationalists personnel to be ready tomorrow. There will be a siege on Jerusalem," said Rina. The commander was surprised at the report.

"Well, what do you propose we do?" asked Al Said.

"Are there reinforcements nearby?" asked Rina.

"The nearest is Turkey, but they'll take too long. A day or two the most."

"Well then, I will need some troops."

"They are all yours to command, Rina. You have stalled their movements, cut their supplies; you even helped us to train our soldiers."

"Give us two squadrons of six. The best you've got."

"Aviv and Al Jawf are the best Jerusalem has to offer." The two commanders of the teams came forward to Rina.

"I'm Mozi Asyav, commander of Aviv," said the commander.

"And I'm Ikhwan al-Abbas of Al Jawf," said the other commander.

"Okay, Mozi and Ikhwan. Here's the plan. We're going to drop into Iraqi territory and head to the command centre in Baghdad. If we can disable their command centre, there will be no coordination among the troops around the area. Mozi, you and your team will go and land at the Suez Canal and disrupt their supply depots there. Ikhwan, you will go and hit Umm Qasr, the port supporting the Nationalist cause. If we manage to disrupt their supply chain, that'll be enough to make them halt their attacks. Got it?" explained Rina. The two commanders nodded. Then Rina turned to Al Said.

"Get the reinforcements from Turkey. We must not waste time. If they're ready for a second strike, Jerusalem may not stand long enough," said Rina.

"Yes, my lady," said Al Said. He said something Arabic to his subordinates as he walked through the crowd. Rina signaled the two commanders to get their teams geared up and head to the helipads. Then Rina and her team left and head to the helipads. During the walk, a girl who had long hair and looked identical as Saya spoke to Rina.

"You look like shit, Rina," she said.

"What makes you say that, Diva?" asked Rina.

"Well, you haven't slept for three weeks. You eat two meals and drink a cup of water a day. You are dehydrated, hungry and tired. You should take a break sometimes, you know, let Arthuria assume command for a while."

"But war doesn't take a break, and one person means a whole lot difference in the battlefield."

"Do you still feel sorry for what happened to our little sister?" asked Saya. Rina didn't reply. She continued walking through the quiet streets of Jerusalem, towards the helipad on the opposite side of the city.

"We don't blame you, Rina. You did what you had to do," said Diva. Rina just kept going. After that, she stopped at a bar nearby.

"You know what, you go ahead. I'm going to get something to drink," said Rina. The rest of the team continued. Rina stepped into the bar and ordered a slushie. She took a sip and the drink rejuvenated her entire body. She didn't feel tired as the slushie was coffee; the caffeine woke her up. Then three big guys stepped in, like bullies. The customers started to sneak out and the bartender was shivering in fear. These outlaws appear when the war tore up whole governments. Many of the policemen that were patrolling the cities were called up to serve in the army. These thugs came down to the bartender and ordered for a drink.

"But sir, we don't have any alcohol," said the scared bartender. The thug held him the collar and pointed a knife at his face.

"Let him go. He says he doesn't sell booze, he doesn't. Go to another bar," said Rina. The thugs turned to Rina who spoke for the bartender.

"You're a brave little lass in here who dared to challenge me?!" said the thug in a high tone. He then continued.

"I'm a man; you're just a little girl. What can you do to stop me?" said the thug as he grabbed her by the Kevlar armor.

"Get your filthy hands off me," warned Rina in a very dark tone.

"What are you going to do? Bitch-slap me?" challenged the thug.

"Yes..," she said, grabbing his arm and twisting it, making him wail in pain and letting go of her. She then landed a kick on his belly and punched him in the neck and brought him down on a table. The second thug drew out his knife and tried to stab Rina. She grabbed his hand, disabled it and locked it behind his back. She kicked him towards the wall with a thundering crash. The third thug drew his revolver out and tried to shoot Rina. He pulled the trigger, but luckily Rina pushed his hand away in time. Little strands of hair flew in the air, with the bullet passing through inches off the side of her head. She then disabled him and threw him out of the window. She then walked back to the bar and handed some money.

"Sorry for the bar," said Rina as she left the bar. The people that were watching outside cheered, but Rina kept moving faster and faster. The crowd noises got dimmer and dimmer as she ran to the helipad. She was running late.

* * *

The helicopter was chugging away from the night horizon. Everyone was sleeping soundly except Rina. Rina did try to take some naps but couldn't as she was haunted by the memories that almost cause the twin's little sister's life.

* * *


	16. Act II: Flashback and Sabotage

It was dusk in a small city of Groznyy. Nationalist troops have been fighting over the city against the combined Russian and Chinese armies. Epsilon was there as a special forces team to assist the Eurasian armies. Rina and her team ran into one of the unoccupied structures.

"Saya, Diva, Vespin, cover us from this building. Arthuria, Namine and Kairi, follow me," said Rina to her team. Saya, Diva and Vespin quickly went up the building they were occupying. Arthuria, Namine and Kairi followed Rina to another structure. Gunfire from a nearby building suppressed the four.

"Onee-chan, that building is suppressing the assault team," said Vespin, pointing at the building. Saya looked and nodded.

"On my mark, 3…2…1…Fire!" said Saya, and the three sisters fired a shot. The building was neutralized; Rina and her team continued on. They reached where several Chinese troops were retreating from Nationalist gunfire. They looked around the corner of the building and saw some Nationalist Humvees firing at the troops.

"Arthuria, nade," said Rina. Arthuria pulled the pin and gave it to Rina. Rina threw in into one of the Humvees. The driver tried to throw it away but the grenade exploded. The explosion engulfed the Humvee and it blew into bits. The Humvee next to it became affected by the explosion. Its occupants exited the vehicle; this gave a chance to Kairi and Namine to fire at the Nationalist troops. The Chinese troops stopped retreating and started moving forward.

"谢谢!_ (Thanks!)_" said one of the soldiers as they ran forward and past them. Then Rina and her assault team passed through some small lanes and reached a church. The Russian were having a hard time holding it as there were Nationalist troops prodding from the streets. There were only several artillery guns and a destroyed T-90 tank.

"Epsilon, regroup at the town church. We need to hold the lines," said Rina on the radio. They went to one of the soldiers.

"Кто за?_ (Who's in charge?),_" asked Rina. The soldier turned around.

"Вы. Командир был ранен _(You are. The commanding officer was shot.)_," said the soldier. A Nationalist Abrams tank appeared from one of the streets.

"Обложка нам из пехоты. Мы заботимся о цистерну _(Cover us from the infantry. We'll take care of the tank)_," commanded Rina.

"Da," replied the soldier as he signaled his comrades to fire at the incoming infantry. Rina and her team ran towards the tank and surprised the machine gunner. The machine gunner fired at them, but they were fast enough to evade the bullets and reached the turret. They killed the machine gunner and opened the hatch. Rina dropped a grenade in the tank and closed the hatch. The team scuttled off as the tank blew up from the inside. The shell remained, but its occupants were dead. A Russian soldier took out a bazooka and launched at a group of Nationalist troops. The explosion managed to take some lives out, but their numbers were massive. There were snipers in among the Nationalist troops that were sniping at the Russian soldiers. There was nothing they could do but retreat into the church. Rina saw the retreat and called her teammates.

"We've got enemy snipers! Where the hell are they?!" asked Rina. The some shots came and hit the Nationalist troops.

"Sorry, we got a bit hung up there," reported Diva, appearing with her other two sisters as they fired from a corner of a building. They quickly spotted the snipers, plucking them out. Missing the backbone of their assault, the Nationalists started to pull back. Several Russian MiGs came past and dropped bombs at Nationalist vehicles trying to enter the city. The Nationalist started retreating, running away as Russian T-90 tanks started rolling into the city. Then Rina spotted some Russian civilians being captured by the Nationalist troops. She quickly asked her team to follow her to retrieve the civilians, but a reply from the snipers gave her tough decisions.

"Taking fire, need assistance!" screamed Saya's voice on the radio. Rina thought for a while and made her decision.

"Hang on there! We have to save the civilians!" replied Rina as her assault team raced to the civilians. She quickly killed some Nationalist troops and flanked the truck containing the civilians. They seized the truck and drove the truck back to the church. After reaching the church, she asked the Russian troops to get the civilians out as she rushed to the besieged snipers. When she reached there, the Chinese troops managed to repel and recover the snipers. The twins were okay, but they were sobbing. The youngest sister, Vespin, was bleeding from her left eye.

"What happened?" asked Rina, shocked.

"A fragmentation grenade. She lost an eye, Rina, she lost an eye!" said Saya, sobbing while shaking Rina to her senses as the medics took Vespin on a stretcher to an APC to rush her to the nearest hospital at St. Petersburg.

* * *

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she thought of that incident that happened over a year ago. Her decision to save civilian lives had cost her a teammate. But if she chose to help her teammates, the civilians will most likely be killed under Nationalist custody. It was a hard decision, but she did what was right. The reason for the army is to protect the people of the country; what's the use of the army if it fails what it does? She shook her head to forget the haunting incident. What's past is past; she had to live with it. She wiped her tears as an announcement was made.

"One minutes to drop zone." Rina woke up her comrades up.

"Fresh and ready?" asked Rina. The rest nodded. The sky became dark as the day decided to close for the night. The helicopter reached the outer perimeter of Baghdad, ruined from the Nationalist invasion. There were several structures still standing, thus making it easy for the helicopter to slip by and land. They've landed several kilometers from the command centre in the heart of the city. They got off and the helicopter flew off immediately. They slowly crouched down and head for the nearest structure.

"It's a bit quiet here. Something must be up," said Rina. Then Intel from the headquarters in Jerusalem came in.

"Most of the troops stationed have left Baghdad; they're heading towards Jerusalem. You'd better hurry up or there will be no Jerusalem to return to," said the Intel officer. Rina gave a simple reply and built up a plan.

"Ok, this is going to be harder than expected. Most of the troops are now heading towards Jerusalem. Their strike was earlier than expected. We're timed now," said Rina. The team nodded, and Rina gave hand signals for them to split into two groups; one led by her and one led by Arthuria. They followed the Tigris-Euphrates River to the command centre at the centre of Baghdad. It wasn't big and fully equipped; more like a forward base rather than a main base. Nevertheless, they had to disable it. It was the only link that holds the invasion force on the ground. There were several troops patrolling nearby.

"Namine, garrison that building with Diva. Kill anyone that comes in our way. Arthuria, regroup," said Rina to a blonde Asian girl and Diva. Namine had long hair just like her twin, Kairi, who has red hair instead. Namine and Diva nodded and got up the building. Arthuria's team regrouped with Rina minutes later.

"The rest, follow me," said Rina. The rest followed her to the command centre.

* * *

Two Nationalist guards walked past the command centre and entered a corner. Rina and Arthuria crept by behind them and grabbed them by the mouth. The guards struggled, but Rina and Arthuria slit their throats. They dragged their bodies and hid them and continued to run across the road. Another two guards came out from the command centre. One took out a cigarette and lighted it. He was puffing away when he was shot by Saya and Kairi with their silenced rifles. The second one realized that his comrade was killed, but was neutralized immediately by Arthuria as Rina entered the centre and killed the officers in charge. Then she planted C4s around the building and the team left off to the building where the snipers were. Rina lifted the cap of the trigger and pushed. The building was blown to bits; it came crashing down as fire engulfed the entire street.

"Our job's done, let's move out," commanded Rina. She was about to leave the premises with her teammates when her vision blurred. She staggered for a while, and then collapsed. Her teammates rushed towards her to retrieve her. Diva checked her pulse.

"It's not good. She was too fatigued. We have to bring her somewhere before the troops realized what happened and come back," said Diva. Arthuria offered to carry her and the team left the city.

* * *

"Where am I?" asked Rina as she woke up. She saw herself hooked up on an I.V. and breathing tubes stuck to her nose. The nurse on duty attended to her.

"You're in the Istanbul General Hospital. You have been given 10 weeks off from duty," said the nurse. Then the nurse called the doctor in. The doctor entered and saw Rina awake.

"How are you feeling?" asked the doctor.

"Why am I here?" asked Rina.

"You collapsed in the line of duty. You were fatigued, starving and dehydrated," replied the doctor.

"But I'm fine," said Rina as she tried to get up. But she just didn't have the strength to get up.

"You're weak. Take this as a break. By the way, your friend is here," said the doctor before leaving the ward. Then Arthuria entered the ward and sat by her bedside.

"Rina, take a break. You are more prone to attacks when you're in this state. Please, take the doctor's advice," said Arthuria.

"So you can take my place?" shot back Rina. Arthuria was speechless for a moment.

"The position commander is reserved only for you, Rina. When you're better, you'll assume command," said Arthuria, then her cell phone rang. Arthuria picked up the phone. Then she handed the cell phone to Rina.

"A call from an old friend from the inside, he wants to speak to you," said Arthuria. Rina took the phone and placed it beside her ear.

"Hello Rina. Heard you're going to be off duty for a while. By the way, I've managed to put Vespin in your brother's team," said the voice.

"Thanks, Melvin. You're such great help," replied Rina.

"You owe me one, Rina. I had to do extra paperwork just to get her in there," said Melvin.

"You're a funny guy. Well, I need my sleep. Bye," said Rina as she closed the phone. Her face glimmered.

"Happy news?" asked Arthuria.

"Yeah. Tell the twins that their little sister is under my brother's wings," stated Rina. Arthuria nodded and left the ward. Then Rina called the nurse in.

"Get me a phone, will ya?" asked Rina. The nurse nodded, and brought a telephone and set it by the side of the bed. Rina dialed a number and waited for the person at the other end of the line to pick up the phone.

"Hello?" said the person at the end of the line.

"Hey brother, it's me, Rina. Is Vespin in your team?" asked Rina

"Yea, why did you ask?"

"Because she was from my team brother. I want you to make a promise, ok?" There was some quarreling at the background from Doug's end of the line.

"Who are quarreling?" asked Rina.

"Oh, it's just James and Yee Lin. Quarreling over mundane things. One of these days my head's gonna burst," replied Doug.

"I think Vespin will solve that. And the promise. You must promise that you'll take care of her just as much as you love me, ok."

"Yes, I promise. Oh, I heard you were out of the task for a while. What happened?" asked Doug.

"It's nothing. Don't worry, I'm fine now. Call you back when I'm back in service. Bye," said Rina before closing the phone. Then she shut her eyes to go to sleep.

* * *


	17. Act II: Reinforcing the Peninsular

__

(One year later, year four of WW III)

Several helicopters flew across the Pakistani desert, entering the Indian airspace. Nationalist troops were on high alert. They were running helter-skelter, taking cover from the helicopters. The helicopters rained down missiles at the troops guarding the border, killing off enough for the ground troops to get through. Battalions of Al-Khalid tanks rolled past the border with little resistance. A couple of days ago, the naval fleets that support the Nationalist battalions in India were taken down by the Indochina joint navy. The seaports were destroyed and the airfields have been bombed. The Nationalist troops have been losing ever since the fall of Iraq a year ago and they have further retreated south.

The helicopters continued to move further south. From the sky, the Chinese Type 99 tanks moved in a V-shaped formation, approaching a Nationalist base that was underpowered and defenseless. The remaining Nationalist troops in that base were completely overrun by the tank army, leaving no survivors. Several Chinese Shenyang J-11 superiority fighters flew past the helicopters. They shot down some Nationalist Raptors and Stealth bombers flying in that area. The sky was full of explosions; dogfights between the Nationalist pilots and the Eurasian pilots were intense. The Chinese jets cleared a path of the helicopters to fly through to the last Nationalist stronghold in Mumbai.

Once within the proximity of the city, the helicopters landed, and troops came pouring out of the choppers. They raced to the front lines and confronted garrisoned Nationalist troops with several Abrams tanks to cover the soldiers. Several jet fighters zoomed past and dropped bombs on the front, clearing way for the Eurasian troops to move forward. Rina and her team came up after the troops entered the city.

"Come on, team. We have to capture this city!" said Rina enthusiastically. Her team raced to the standing structures and garrisoned them. The target was the Mumbai Provincial office. The building was the most heavily defended among other Nationalist offices and bases in the area. The coastal base was destroyed by Eurasian navies, leaving the Nationalist forces completely surrounded. The provincial office area was packed with Patriot missile launchers, M1 Abrams tanks and hundreds of infantry. There were also land-based Tomahawk launch sites within the perimeter of the office. A Chinese tank tried to prod into the Nationalist defenses; it was blown to bits by a Tomahawk missile. Eurasian soldiers ran for cover at the shingle around the provincial office.

"Dammit! Those Tomahawks are killing us!" exclaimed one Pakistani soldier. Rina crawled to the Pakistani soldier.

"Where's your commanding officer?" asked Rina. The soldier turned to her.

"He's at the left flank, pinned down by machine guns over there," said the soldier, pointing to an embankment on the West side of the building. Bullet trails made the machine gun fire obvious.

"Where is the support?" asked Rina.

"We are the support!" shouted the soldier as the bullets ricocheting through blurred their conversation. Rina nodded.

"Tell your commander to keep the front busy. We'll sabotage from behind," said Rina.

"But I dropped my radio somewhere."

"Here, you can use mine," said Saya, passing her radio to the soldier. The soldier radioed in and got confirmation.

"My commander says he'll try to cover you for as long as possible," said the soldier.

"Thanks," replied Rina.

"Namine, Diva, help them cover us. The rest, follow me," said Rina as she moved to the North face of the Provincial office, where the Tomahawk launch sites were. The team managed to sneak past the guards; there were not many as most of them were at the front lines. They swiftly took one guard after another, then killing all the people controlling the Tomahawk launchers. They've planted C4s and ran off. Several soldiers noticed the Tomahawks stopped firing and ran to the launched sites. Noticing that most of their comrades were dead, they tried to warn the rest of the situation. Some tried leaving the compound to search for the saboteurs.

"They won't be hunting us this time," commented Rina. The timer on the C4s reached 0, exploding in a sequence you would see in a fireworks display. This gave the signal for the Chinese and Pakistani tanks to move in. The Nationalists got desperate, using the Patriot missile system as an attack weapon on the tanks. The M1 Abrams tanks rushed and crashed into the Coalition's tanks to stop them in their tracks. But soldiers from the Russian 3rd Para drop came in with missile launchers. They shredded the Nationalist tanks and the Patriot missiles to bits, then began taking out other infantry. The Nationalists, refusing to surrender, garrisoned into the provincial office. The Russian troops threw a few fragmentation grenades into the office, and then rushed in with flamethrowers. They burned the remaining Nationalist troops out of the building and office compound was secured.

With the hours that passed, the Nationalist flag was torn down; a new flag came up to take its place, the Eurasian Coalition flag. Chinese tanks came pouring in and Rina and her team regrouped to a makeshift command centre at the provincial office. There was a Chinese commander in his mid-20s. They saluted to the commander and the commander saluted back.

"Excellent job, Delta 13. You have helped us push the Nationalist pigs away from the Eurasian landmass. We owe you a lot," said the commander.

"No problems, Chen. We're just doing our job," said Rina.

"With the Nationalists reeling of our coordinated strike here, they're bound to land troops to the Malay peninsulas from the Malay Archipelago. The commanding officer there needs your assistance as they're ready to strike the Australian landmass immediately. Our transport planes are ready for the trip; we'll get you there," said Commander Chen.

"谢谢你，指挥官陈 _(Thank you, Commander Chen)_," said Rina.

"不用谢 _(No problem)_,"replied Commander Chen. Rina and her team head out to the jeep that was waiting to pick them up. They got onto the jeep and the jeep sped to the airstrip nearby.

* * *

The sky was dark. The transport plane cruised together with two jets accompanying it. Rina and her team were having a conversation.

"So we're going to help defend Malaysia and Singapore from a Nationalist invasion. Why?" asked Arthuria, her blonde hair redone to a ponytail held by a blue ribbon.

"They sent their entire navy to help defend the Indian Ocean. It's pretty amazing how countries as small as them are able to hold off an invasion big enough to take over India," pondered Saya.

"India was unprepared for the invasion. These countries have been training their troops their whole lives to deal with huge invasions, I think," hypothesized Kairi.

"No," said Rina, her answer got across. "They have what the Nationalists hate most."

"And what would that be, Rina?" asked Diva.

"The jungles are all they have, Diva. America before fascist control has lost in Vietnam because of that," stated Rina. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"But how about Singapore? They were the first to get nuked," mentioned Namine.

"The Singaporeans were smart. They thought Malaysia will try to take over them by military force which they didn't have. So they build multipurpose subway stations for that kind of situations. They have built them as bunkers, resistant to any kind of attack, so that its people may live in it while the war lasts. Luckily Malaysia wasn't interested in them," explained Rina.

"If they were anticipating an attack from Malaysia, why wouldn't attack them first? I mean, a good offense is the best defense," commented Kairi.

"But both the countries rely on each other. Malaysia relied on Singapore to transport its goods; Singapore relied on Malaysia for drinking water. It's a win-win," explained Rina. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"How did you know all this stuff anyway?" asked Arthuria.

"Here," said Rina while showing a history book of Malaysia and Singapore. "It's best to know the type of country you're going to serve in before actually serving. You get to know how they work, so that we can work better with them."

"Subang Airport, 10 minutes," mentioned the intercom.

"This is it, girls. Malaysia. Home of three different races, working together for a greater good for the country," said Rina as the plane started descending to the runway of the airport. The plane landed and stopped at a hangar at the airport. The team exited the plane to be greeted by three friendly faces; a Malay man, a Chinese woman and an Indian man, dressed in military uniform.

"Welcome to our home," said the Malay man.

"Assamualaikum," greeted Rina. The man was impressed and greeted back.

"Walaikumusalam."

"How shall I refer you as?" asked Rina.

"You can call me Commander Zulkifli, and these are my two lieutenants, Andrea Chan and Kumar," said the commander. They shook hands and exchanged greetings.

"Commander Rina, I'm sure Commander Chen has told you of our plans, right? Please follow us. We'll take you and your team to your home placed in the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur," said Commander Zulkifli.

"Thank you, commander," said Rina. They got into an MPV and sped off to the highway. As the vehicle was cruising along the highway, Rina looked out. She saw the highway dimly lit and several PT-90 tanks passed by on the other side of the highway. They went through an abandoned toll and continued past until they reached a road sign; Klang. The MPV continued until it reached an apartment building in Klang. They went up to the 3rd floor and entered the apartment.

The apartment was nothing but amazing. The furniture was in place, the wallpaper looked fresh, there was a Plasma TV, a kitchen and books on 'The Communist Manifesto'; even the air conditioner still works.

"This was left by a Chinese lawyer when the war began. God knows where he is now," said Zulkifli, looking around the apartment block. The girls took a seat at the couch.

"Take a good rest. The beds are still in place. We'll begin tomorrow," said Zulkifli as he closed the door.

* * *


	18. Act II: Jungle Warfare

The morning sun rises in the East. The girls were up and ready. Jet lag made some of them a bit tired. Someone knocked on the door. Rina opened it.

"Morning ladies. Did you sleep well?" asked Zulkifli.

"Very well. Thank you Zulkifli," replied Rina.

"Had you have your breakfast?"

"Not yet."

"Come on. I'll bring you to this coffee shop down the street. It has really nice hawker's food."

"Thanks a lot."

"It's the least we could do for coming to help us out." Zulkifli led them to the coffee shop down below.

* * *

The morning made the war scars more clear. Soldiers were patrolling the roads. Military trucks moving around. Several buildings had been blown to bits by Nationalist bombings. But life was still thriving. People were manning the shops, buying and selling rationed groceries, people walking to factories to work on consumer and military products. The people were working together to get the nation through this war, coupled with a faltering economy and incoming refugees. Zulkifli brought Rina and her team to the coffee shop for breakfast. They took a seat at a round table and ordered their breakfast. Then a warning siren came blaring. Everyone ran for cover. Zulkifli quickly notified Rina.

"Air strike! Quick, follow me!" exclaimed Zulkifli as he led them to a bomb shelter nearby. They entered the bomb shelter near the coffee shop together with some of the civilians and hid there. The last person that came in; a soldier closed the heavy metal door of the shelter. All they could do was waiting until the siren stopped blaring. They could hear explosions from the outside; shaking the ground they were hiding in. Rina asked Zulkifli.

"Aren't we supposed to be out there helping the troops to shoot down those planes?" asked Rina.

"We can't get out there. They're hitting us with carpet bombing, and then spraying chemical agents which are deadly upon contact. The only thing that stands between us and those aircraft are our own jets. Let's just hope there are no other jets that carry bunker buster bombs," replied Zulkifli. The terrified civilians were shaking in fear as the explosions continued. An Indian guy was saying verses from the Bible, praying as though he was going to die. Rina was scared too; but she tried to keep optimistic. After a while, the bombing stopped; the siren stopped blaring. A radio inside the bunker started crackling. Zulkifli took the receiver from the radio.

"This is Commander Zulkifli. What's our situation on the outside?" he said on the receiver.

"It's all clear. No toxin sprays today, just heavy bombing," replied the radio. Zulkifli ordered the soldier to open the metal door. The soldier opened the door; the surroundings were decimated. Shop houses that used to stand across the coffee shop were no more. What's left of them were rubble and debris. Miraculously, the apartment building that Rina and her team were staying remained untouched by the bombing. A military jeep with a soldier came by and stopped in front of Zulkifli.

"Sir, one of our bunkers had been hit by a bunker buster. No one survived," said the soldier.

"Were there any bodies?" asked Zulkifli.

"Twenty, sir," replied the soldier.

"Take the bodies out and bury them. I'll report to HQ," commanded Zulkifli.

"You didn't seem sad at that loss of life," commented Arthuria. Rina nudged her.

"We have lost five million civilians and troops fighting this war. They've been killing us like animals. Singapore was no better off. Only 20,000 of them are left," commented Zulkifli. Rina remembered a phrase from Stalin that goes, "When a person is killed, it's called a murder; when a million people are killed, it's called a statistic". She pondered at it for a while before snapping out of it when Saya nudged her.

"Rina, let's grab our gear from the apartment before something else comes and destroys it," said Saya. Rina nodded and followed her team to grab their gear.

* * *

"There have been several reports that Nationalists have landed some troops in the jungles of the Peninsular," stated Arthuria. Rina nodded. They were walking through the paths in the dense jungle. Sunlight barely lit the ground. They walked slowly, as not to attract attention from Nationalist troops that might have been in this area. A radio signal came in.

"Hello, this is the Malaysian 3rd Regiment and the Singapore 5th Regiment. We're here to assist you on the mission," reported the radio. Arthuria grabbed her radio from her back to reply.

"Roger that," replied Arthuria and they continued walking. They approached where a light has managed to pierce through the thick canopy; a clearing near a stream, slowly, as they have spotted camps nearby. They hid behind a fallen tree near the stream. A soldier came out of one of the tents, sporting Nationalist uniform. They took cover while Diva observed them.

"Arthuria, map," said Rina. Arthuria reached down her pocket and took out the map. Rina inspected it and pinpointed their location. She reached for her radio and whispered in.

"Enemy spotted. Coordinates 2510345," whispered Rina. Then she came up and looked again. More troops came from behind the trees. They brought back some prisoners of war. They were wearing Malaysian and Singaporean military uniform.

"Shit!" Rina exclaimed before getting back.

"What is it?" asked Arthuria.

"Our assistance is right there," replied Rina, pointing towards the camp. Arthuria peeped from behind the log. Then she came back.

"We gotta go. We just told off our position," said Arthuria, preparing to leave.

"But we can't just leave them there," said Rina.

"It's your call. Either we go or get caught as well," advised Arthuria. Rina thought for a moment.

"Plan B," said Rina.

"Aww hell no!" said Arthuria. Rina grabbed a bunch of straws from her pocket.

"Are you with me or not?" asked Rina.

"Ok, fine," replied Arthuria, rolling her eyes. They drew straws. Arthuria got the shortest straw.

"Fate has sided you today," remarked Saya, giving Arthuria a pat on the back. Arthuria smirked. She grabbed her rifle and started crawling out of the hiding place. Once Arthuria has left the scene, Rina peeped over the log again. This time, a Nationalist officer pointed a gun at the POW on the head and shot him. A second one came to take his place. The officer pointed the gun at his head and was ready to fire. Rina ordered Diva to fire at the officer. The officer was shot through the head and the other Nationalist soldiers rushed forward to find the sniper. The team deliberately revealed themselves and fired at some of the soldiers. The soldiers were killed, but more started to appear from the camps and started pursuing them. Rina and her team ran away and made the other Nationalist troops follow them. There were only a few guards remained.

From behind, Arthuria swiftly entered the camp, stabbing off all of the guards and releasing all the POWs. The POWs rejoiced, stole the weapons at the camp and set some explosives around the camp.

From afar, the explosion of the camp rang through the jungle. Rina and her team reached a valley and quickly turned around and fired at the troops. A soldier threw a grenade at them. They got hit and surrendered to the troops. The Nationalist troops, five of them, surrounded them and pulled them up from the ground.

"How lucky did we get?" commented a soldier as they lined them up facing at a cliff face, with their hands on top of their heads.

"Ready!" yelled a soldier. The soldiers pulled the bolt on their rifles. Rina and her team just looked at each other without turning their heads. Rina just nodded once.

"Aim!" The soldiers pointed their rifles at the girls. They closed their eyes. The soldiers eyes were aimed at their heads, fingers fixed to the trigger. The suddenly six shots were fired from the back and the girls dropped dead. The Nationalist troops turned and looked around for the gunner. A soldier looked back and saw them; lay sprawled on the ground, blood coming out from their mouth and eyes wide open. The soldier turns back and looks for the gunner. But from behind, hands reached out and grabbed all the soldiers at their mouths, then slitting their throats. They were let to fall to the ground, and Rina and her team withdrew their knives and kept it. Diva spat some blood from her mouth.

"That's the last time I'm putting chicken blood in my mouth," commented Diva as she wiped the blood stains from her mouth. Rina waved at a distance opposite the cliff face. Arthuria popped out from behind a rock and waved back.

"They're all safe now. They're awaiting extraction. Come, let's go," said Arthuria. Rina and the rest of the team followed.

* * *


	19. Act II: Indonesian Excursion

Rina was in front of the command centre which was an underground railway station. It said 'KLCC' on the blue sign on top with a 'rapidKL' sign next to it. It was dirty from dirt that has been blown up by bombing. Opposite the station was a twin sliver skyscraper, with a broken sky bridge, broken windows and blown up floors. The roads were no more than holes and pock marks on the ground. Some charred vehicles littered the streets. A PT-90 and a Leopard II drove by, banging through the charred vehicles like they were no obstacle. Smoke filled the grey sky, looking as though it was going to pour rain today. Rina entered the station. Down below, there were officers walking around with papers, officers meeting up with their seniors and officers manning the electronic devices and computers. At the centre of the entire racket was a table where two commanders were debating on the next plan of attack.

"Commander Patrick, I really do not agree with the strategy you just propose. It looks like you just pulled it out from a Real Time Strategy game," commented Zulkifli.

"But hey, it works. Just because it came out from a Real Time Strategy game doesn't mean it can't work," replied the commander. His back was facing Rina so she couldn't identify this commander. Zulkifli noticed Rina's presence and called her in.

"Ah, Commander Rina. Come. I want you to meet our finest commander on the field, Commander Patrick Lam," said Zulkifli as he introduced the commander.

"Welcome. Come to the table. Tell Zulkifli that my strategy is fool-proof," said Patrick. He wore a plain green shirt with a 4-star badge pinned on the left side of his shirt, quite a tall build and was no older than 20. Rina came forth to the table. She saw a map with some lines that came out from the main peninsular, pointing straight to Australia.

"And what is this strategy that blows tops?" asked Rina.

"He's planning to send the last of our defensive navy to Australia as a diversion to make them pull troops out of Indonesia. But we do not know whether it works or the Nationalists find opportunity to strike the mainland while their Australian Navies rape our only naval defensive measure," explained Zulkifli, sighing after finishing his speech.

"Hey, I didn't get 4 stars for nothing. It will work," said Patrick.

"Well, it could possibly work," said a voice from behind. They all turned and saw this Chinese guy who was about the same age as Patrick. Patrick was happy to see him.

"Wilson, you finally arrived and agreed on this strategy," said Patrick, welcoming him like an old friend. Zulkifli saluted at him.

"Commander Wilson," said Zulkifli. Rina saluted at him too. Wilson saluted back and walked towards the table.

"But we can make it less painful. Do we still have our subs?" asked Wilson. Zulkifli called on the Intel officer and he replied back.

"All of the subs have been placed in the Indian Ocean," said Zulkifli.

"Are you sure?" asked Wilson. Zulkifli asked the Intel officer again.

"Yes," replied Zulkifli.

"How about the RSS Kuan Yew?" asked Wilson. Zulkifli and the Intel officer gave blank looks. Wilson sighed.

"Call the radio at 09456 at 72kHz. Put them through in the conference room," commanded Wilson. Zulkifli instructed the Intel officer to adjust to that frequency and they all entered the conference room. When they entered the conference room, all they see was static on the projector. The Intel officer dialed for a while but the static continued.

"It seems that it doesn't exist," commented Zulkifli.

"Just wait, commander," replied Wilson. Suddenly the static became clearer. A picture started to appear.

"RSS Kuan Yew reporting," said the voice. The static cleared and an admiral appeared.

"RSS Kuan Yew, this is Commander Wilson Cheah of the South East Asian Naval force from KL command. Please state your position," said Wilson.

"Our position is 5° South of Singapore, sir," replied the admiral.

"I never knew such ship existed," commented Zulkifli.

"Of course you don't. It's Singapore's first out of five nuclear subs capable of carrying nuclear warheads," replied Wilson. Zulkifli had his eyes open, surprised. Wilson looked at Zulkifli again.

"Hey, it's not like you have three miniature nuclear-powered aircraft carriers hiding in the Langkawi docks," said Wilson. Zulkifli's face turned sour.

"You will not speak of those crafts," warned Zulkifli.

"Yes, I can. The High Commander persists on their use," said Wilson, showing a golden 'keris' with the royal emblem on it.

"The Agong approves on it?" asked Zulkifli, totally shocked. Then he sighed.

"They are yours to command." Zulkifli asked the Intel officer to dial the frequency.

"If you told me you had aircraft carriers, I wouldn't have to suggest that outrageous strategy," commented Patrick. Zulkifli rubbed his forehead as the Intel officer dialed for the frequency for the aircraft carriers. Three faces appeared on the projector.

"Admiral Muthu of KD Selangor reporting with two of her sister ships, Admiral Derek Chong of KD Pulau Pinang and Admiral Rafi of KD Melaka," said the Indian admiral.

"Admirals, the Agong has spoken. You are now officially operational. You will be under the command of Commander Wilson Cheah," said Zulkifli before handing Wilson a thumb drive.

"This is the only thing that commands them and approves all their launches," said Zulkifli.

"Right men, let's get to business," said Wilson Cheah as the frequency was disengaged.

"Now to draw a new plan," commented Patrick as he started thinking.

* * *

Rina sat, holding her legs tightly on the deck of KD Selangor, the newest aircraft carrier of the Coalition's arsenal, which was off the coast of Singapore. The aircraft carrier was fairly big; still smaller than normal aircraft carrier but bigger than a destroyer. Its sister ships, KD Pulau Pinang and KD Melaka, were heading towards Borneo and the Philippines. The deck of the aircraft carrier was empty; just a runway and the 'island', where the brains of the ship are. A light breeze caressed Rina's face and hair. The sun dimmed as it sank into the sea for the night. Arthuria came out from the 'island' and sat next to Rina.

"How're you feeling?" asked Arthuria.

"Relaxed. I always loved to stay by the ocean. The gentle breeze, the clear waters; a seaside hill would be better," replied Rina.

"Me too. My parents always bring me and my sister along to the beach during the summer, at the southern coast of England. We miss those carefree days ever since….."

"Yeah, I understand. I was thinking that after the war, my brother and I will go and live on an island. Not so desolate, but an island where we can enjoy the views of the seas."

"How about Okinawa? I heard it's the place where old people go to live after retirement."

"No, they don't. But still a good choice to go. Maybe I should go ask the twins."

"Which one?"

"Saya and Diva, duh. They've been living there for most of their lives."

"Oh."

"Still a dream, though. When this war is over, I'll find someone to settle with and go to the beaches."

"It's kinda romantic, huh?"

"Yeah, sure does."

"Anyway, dinner time is now in the quarters. Are you coming in?"

"You go ahead. I'll stay a while here a bit longer." Arthuria walked back into the 'island' while Rina continued to look at the setting sun. She smiled a bit before getting up and getting inside the ship.

* * *

A transport helicopter was on standby on the deck. Rina and her team ran into the helicopter and a soldier shut the doors. The helicopter lifted itself from the empty deck and started flying to the island of Sumatra. After that, the deck at the back of the ship opened like a door; out came little UCAVs (Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle) capable of attacking ground and air-based targets. Five UCAVs escorted the helicopter to the drop site while other UCAVs flew in a formation to a target far away from the drop site.

"Your mission objective is to locate the 6th Australian rangers in the jungles. Once you've made contact, you will assault the main base in Palembang," said the soldier in the helicopter. The team nodded and got ready. But then the helicopter started swerving left and right.

"Nationalist jets. Hold on tight!" said the pilot as he dived down. On the outside, the Nationalist jets were in pursuit of the helicopter, but then were surprised by the UCAVs. They were shot down and the drones flew through the smoke trails they left behind. The other Nationalist jets were surprised at the capability of the UCAVs; thinking they were manned aircraft rather than drones. The dogfight between the might of the Nationalist air force and the Eurasian drones continued as the helicopter slid in and lay low above the jungle canopy. The helicopter then arrived at a small clearing near the Musi River. The river rippled as the downdraft of the helicopter blades kept the helicopter hovering. The girls dropped their equipment at the end of their rope before following soon after. Rina was the last to disembark the hovering chopper; a Nationalist Apache helicopter came past and fired at it. The girls who were at the ground hid behind some trees. The Eurasian helicopter swerved to evade the bullets and Rina was dangling helplessly on the rope; her right hand got trapped on the twined rope that was wrapped around her hand so that she would not slide down too quickly. She was stuck halfway to the ground, which was still at least 15 feet.

"Rina!" exclaimed Saya as Rina tried to free herself as she got thrown around like a ball of yarn being hit by a playing kitten under the chopper. The pilot noticed Rina got stuck on the rope and started to descend. But the Nationalist chopper passing by launched missiles at the helicopter; the helicopter was forced to pull up. Rina pulled out the knife from the pouch on her left leg and started to cut the rope. Diva saw that she was still too high to jump to the ground; she aimed her scope on the windshield of the Apache and fired a shot. The bullet bounced off the windshield like it was metal; the windshield was bulletproof.

"Hit the tail!" yelled Arthuria, pointing at the tail of the passing Apache. Diva quickly aimed the tail and shot a few volleys at it. This created holes at the tail, coupled with stress of flying fast and the tail dislodged from the Apache. The Apache came swirling down into the river, creating a humungous splash. The pilot immediately descended down; allowing Rina to cut herself off and got to the ground safely. Her teammates rushed to her; her hand was bruised and glowed red; blood came out from the cuts caused by the ropes. At least the hand did not snap off. The helicopter quickly left the scene.

"You alright?" asked Arthuria.

"I thought I was going to lose an arm. I can't feel it," said Rina, moving her arm to try to feel it again. Kairi grabbed some gauze from the Medikit and wrapped it around Rina's hand, then pinned it in place.

"That'll do," said Rina while nodding her head to Kairi. Rina grabbed her rifle and hung it around her shoulder; her right hand started to burn. She then asked Kairi to inject some morphine to ease the pain on her arm. They started marching into the jungle.

* * *


	20. Act II: The Strategy

Among the trees of the jungle, an Australian sniper in camouflage was sitting on the tree. Looking like an overgrown weed on a branch, he scoured the jungle floor. Then he received a message from his headphones.

"There was a Nationalist helicopter crash down the river. Careful for any Nationalist troops," said the radio.

"Aye, mate," replied the sniper. He then saw some troops moving below him. They had heavy armor that made them look oversized. The sniper recognized the creed immediately.

"Sector B-5, Navy Stormtroopers in. Gotta need some assistance," whispered the sniper. He knew one thing for sure, he had to lay low and still long enough for the Stormtroopers to walk past. He lay on the branch while watching the Stormtroopers gathered around the tree he was on.

"Oh fuck!" he thought. Then some gunshots hit the Stormtroopers on their necks. Some dropped dead, the others ran for cover. The sniper looked at where the gunshots came from and saw Rina and her team firing at the Stormtroopers. He couldn't believe his eyes; he rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

"Damn I swore I saw ladies kicking fascist butt. I must be sleeping," thought the sniper before pinching himself. He felt the pain and that kinda sums it all. But he kept on reasoning.

"Must be my loneliness," muttered the sniper. He continued to watch the battle between Rina and her team and the Stormtroopers. When the fight ended and bodies of Nationalist troops started to stink, Rina and her team gathered under the same tree.

"Ok girls, we have to locate them Australians," said Rina. The sniper felt it as a threat. He quickly threw his voice deep into the jungle.

"Don't you move, missy, or I'll pop yer head off," yelled the sniper. The girls turned around to locate the voice. Then Rina spoke.

"Where's you?" asked Rina.

"Why should I tell ya? Are you friend or foe?"

"Friend. We've been sent to locate you guys," replied Arthuria.

"I'm not askin' you, blondie. I'm askin' yer leader." Arthuria's face turned sour.

"Like she said, friend. Sent by the Eurasian forces to locate you," said Rina.

"How am I supposed to know that what you say is right?"

"Have you seen what we did just now?"

"Nope." The sniper lied. "I just came when reports told me Nationalist troops invadin' our secure points. By the way, yer gals stole my kill."

"Ok, fine. Have you seen a female Nationalist trooper?"

"Not that I know of."

"Nationalists DON'T employ women warriors because they're sexist." The sniper was astounded.

"Fair point. How can I trust you that you gals won't shoot me?"

"You've got my word."

"Ok. I want you to take 5 steps away from the tree you're standing next to." The girls took five steps away from the tree. The sniper jumped down with his boots landing hard. This gave a shock to the girls as they turned around and aimed their rifles at the sniper.

"Whoa, whoa, take it easy, mate! I'm the sniper you've been talkin'," said the sniper. The girls lowered their rifles.

"How the hell can you throw your voice into the jungle?" asked Arthuria.

"Blondie, it's a skill we snipers have to learn to avoid getting caught," replied the sniper.

"Hey, don't call me blondie or I'll kick your balls so hard that you can only make high-pitch squealy noises," said Arthuria before turning away. Rina gave a pat on the snipers back.

"Don't call her blondie, man. She gets offended easily," advised Rina.

"Is she British?" whispered the sniper.

"Yes," replied Rina.

"No wonder."

"What did you say?!" growled Arthuria angrily. The sniper got intimidated.

"I was just sayin' good ol' Britain gave birth to us Australians," said the sniper. Arthuria just ignored and turned her back to him. The sniper heaved a sigh of relief.

"So where to?" asked Rina.

"Follow me, mates. There camp's this way," said the sniper. They followed the sniper deeper into the jungle.

On the way to the camp, and to cure her boredom, Rina asked the sniper some questions.

"I didn't catch your name back there," stated Rina.

"Oh, the name's Giles, Jones Giles. Sorry if I was a bit rude to not introduce meself," replied the sniper. He jumped over a log.

"I'll have to refer to you as?"

"Just call me Jonsey will suffice."

"Jonsey? That's sounds like a girl's name," commented Arthuria.

"Well, Artie sounds like a boy's name, doesn't it?" shot back Jones.

"Thank you," replied Arthuria, taking it like it was a complement. Jones was dumbfounded. He missed a step and almost tripped.

"She's a bit of a tiger, mate. Don't try her bad side," whispered Rina.

"Looks like the kitten needs a trainer to calm her down," murmured Jones.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" said Arthuria loudly. Some birds in the trees fluttered away.

"Cool down, mate. With that roar of yours, you're going to scare all the Nationalist bastards," stated Jones. Arthuria's face turned sour and was about to start talking. Rina warned her.

"Arthuria, stop. He's trying to help us and you're making it hard for him."

"But he insulted me!" exclaimed Arthuria, with tears forming on the brim of her eyelids and pointing her finger at Jones.

"Okay, okay. Sorry mate. We're just talking to pass the time. The camp's not far now," said Jones and they continued walking.

"Drama queen," murmured Saya to Diva and they both chuckled.

* * *

They reached the regiment camp, where local and Australian soldiers gathered to fight against the Nationalist occupation in Indonesia. If they succeed in taking back Indonesia, the Australian regiment was ready to take their country back. The camp blended with the jungle, the trees became their watchtowers and all the soldiers there were living off the earth. Jones and Epsilon team reached the camp and were greeted by small children no older than 12. There were men and women in the camp, preparing firearms for the fight and food for the night. An Indonesian commander came out of a wooden hut.

"Ah, soldiers from the front. What brings you here?" asked the commander.

"We are Delta 13 and here to assist the takeover of Indonesia and Australia," replied Rina.

"Delta 13? Surely you must be joking. Who were your predecessors of 13th squad?" asked the commander.

"Commander Leslie Navin and team," replied Rina.

"Come in," said the commander. The team followed into the wooden hut. The hut wasn't big; but had some modern equipment and a table.

"Please, take a seat," said the commander. Rina and her team sat on the chairs around the rectangular wooden table.

"You don't need to lie now, Epsilon. I know your true identity," said the commander. Epsilon team was surprised.

"As you can see, Melvin was a great friend. He's the one sorting the logistics for our troops here. He's the one who notified me of your arrival. I had to send out our snipers to await your arrival." Then the commander spotted Rina's bandaged arm.

"What happened?" asked the commander, pointing at the bandaged arm.

"Oh, abseiling down from the chopper. Enemy couldn't wait," said Rina, trying to crack a joke.

"I see. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Nandi Andhika, regional officer of the Sumatran forces. The other commanders, mostly Australians, are now battling the Nationalists on the other islands."

"Right now the Eurasian's newest naval crafts have reached to assist the takeover."

"Really? I thought they just sent you here to help us until they've secured the Indian Oceans."

"They've started the counter-offensive. Aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines on their way to the islands." Nandi's eyes opened wide.

"They have……..aircraft carriers?" The team nodded.

"About time, I'd say. We are almost not sane staying in the jungles for too long. So what are the directives?"

"I thought Melvin told you."

"Our networks broke down yesterday. Damn Nationalists took out our radio stations just north of here."

"Well then. The directive is to hit the main base in Palembang," said Rina.

"Tell the high commanders to give us two hours. Be prepared for support," said Nandi. Then the meeting was dismissed.

* * *


	21. Act II: Epsilon Aussie Rangers Joint Ops

It was nightfall. Rina and her team were looking at the Palembang base from behind the trees on the edge of a cliff. They had brought the 6th Australian Rangers and the Indonesian 3rd regiment with them. Commander Nandi must have been very generous to send all of his troops from camp to the assault. Arthuria looked through the binoculars and spotted some tanks moving out of the base. The base had a small helipad and several concrete buildings; which sat on the ruins of Palembang, which didn't survive the nuke.

"Nationalists are sending their armor out," said Arthuria. Then Jones popped out from the jungle bush.

"Hey, mates. What have we got?" asked Jones.

"Look through the scope," said Arthuria. Jones looked into his scope.

"There, there and there. See those watchtowers? They seemed empty right?" pointed Arthuria to the watchtowers on the North, South-West and South-East of the base with its door facing south.

"Yeah, pretty empty," replied Jones.

"Now look through these binoculars," said Arthuria, handing her binoculars to Jones. Jones peered through and the scenery appeared green. There were hot spots glowing on the watchtowers.

"They've got stealth troops within the vicinity. I suggest you get a night-vision scope for this assault. You've got to cover us from 30 of those troops on the grounds, Jonsey," snickered Arthuria. Jones sighed and added an extra lens in front of his existing scope. Arthuria got up and left the area. Rina whispered in his ear.

"We're counting on you. You'll have Namine and Diva at your disposal," whispered Rina before handing out her radio. Jones nodded and took the radio from her and looked at the base through his scope. Rina grouped up with Arthuria and the rest of the 6th Rangers and 3rd Regiment. The teams were armed with Ak-47 and Steyr Aug rifles with laser paints. There were several of them that carried RPG-7s.

"Everyone, get your night visions turned on. There are stealth troops crawling on the grounds. Watch out for them, and good luck," said Rina. The troops pulled down a contraption hanging from their helmets to their eye level. There were green glows emitting out from those contraptions, making them look more like cyborgs rather than soldiers. Arthuria and Rina also wore the contraptions and set them up. They ran to a ditch near the Western base fences that was shielded by leaves. Arthuria grabbed her radio and spoke into it.

"Fire when ready." Gunshots were heard and some bodies appeared from nowhere and fell on the base grounds. A Ranger stuck the detonator and threw a plastic explosive to the fence.

"Fire in the hole!" announced the Ranger as the bomb blew up. A gaping hole was created so that the teams can get in.

"Go! Go! Go!" exclaimed Arthuria. More gunshots fired. A few more bodies appeared and dropped dead on the ground. Rina and Arthuria appeared from the ditch and aimed. They saw moving hotspots and shot them. Two Nationalist troops fell dead. The rest of the teams came out and raced into the base and fired their weapons while bullets passed by them. One Ranger was shot through the head coming into the base. The sniper smiled to himself.

"You won't be smiling any longer," commented Jones as he spotted the sniper and plucked him out. The Rangers and the Regiment took cover behind crates and massive containers. Gunfire from a Nationalist machine gun emplacement kept them hiding. Arthuria spoke into the radio.

"Namine, get that machine gunner!" radioed Arthuria. Namine aimed and took a shot at the machine gunner. The machine gun stopped, allowing the Rangers and the Regiment to come out of hiding. They fired at several stealth troops and continued to push forward. A Regiment soldier launched an RPG-7 at the wooden control tower. The tower swayed under the explosion and tumbled down, burning the small tarmac of the base. Noises from the sky alerted the teams. An Apache appeared before them by surprise.

"Take cover!" yelled Rina. The Apache launched its Hellfire missiles and blew up some of the retreating soldiers. The rest took cover from the helicopter. A Ranger tried to launch an RPG-7 but the helicopter gunned him down. The helicopter hovered around the base to wreck havoc, destroying any obstacles that may cover the teams.

"Snipers! Get that chopper!" yelled Arthuria on the radio with the bullets ricocheting louder than she could scream. The snipers aimed at the helicopter and fired. The bullets hit the chopper, but missed its vital parts. The helicopter turned to search for the troops that fired at it. That at least distracted it for Arthuria to fire at the tail. The tail started smoking, and the chopper started swaying side by side, but continued to fire at the troops, pinning them down. A Ranger managed to grab hold of an RPG-7 and fired it at the helicopter. It was a direct hit and the chopper came down bursting into pieces. Scrap metal fell down like rain. The troops quickly gained footing and rushed to the command centre at the far end of the base. Some stealth troops fired at the teams, but the snipers took them out quickly. The teams later took cover because they were pinned down by machine guns.

"Not again!" exclaimed Rina. Rina fired at the machine gunners but missed. Then the radio crackled.

"The tanks are coming back!" said the radio. Rina then shouted at the teams.

"Fall back! Fall back!" she yelled, waving at the teams to fall back into the jungle. The teams started to pull back into the jungle. The Nationalists were rejoicing at their victory in battle. The teams managed to get back to the ditch they came from and took cover from there. Nationalist troops started pursuing them, running after the teams. The teams quickly gunned them down from their defense spot.

"Dammit! When's it coming?!" exclaimed Arthuria as a missile went past through and hit the ground not far from them. A Regiment trooper aimed an RPG-7 at the tank that was approaching them and fired. The RPG just bounced off from the tank's armor, and its main gun poised at their position.

"Oh shit!" exclaimed Rina as they ran as far as possible from the ditch. The cannon fired, causing an explosion near Rina. Some troops that were there at the moment were decimated. Rina was thrown off her feet. Arthuria, on the other hand, was well away, trying to flank the tank with an RPG. She shot the engine, disabling the tank and also injuring some of the nearby troops.

"That's one less tank to worry of," commented Arthuria. Arthuria started to run, but her foot got tangled in between roots of a tree and fell. The cannon turned and pointed at Arthuria. She closed her eyes and felt her heart stopped beating when the tank exploded. She looked at the burning tank and saw some drones flying by. She slumped to the ground.

"I love those aircraft carriers," thought Arthuria as she wiped a sweat off her face and quickly cut herself from the entangled roots. Rina, who was hiding behind a tree after she recovered from her fall, saw the Nationalist troops running away.

"About time! Rangers, Regiment, assault!" Rina screamed her war cry. The Rangers and the Regiment troopers quickly regrouped and attacked the retreating Nationalist troops. Those Nationalist soldiers that fell down were shot by the teams, and those running away were hit by the drones' bombs. The troops raced towards the command centre and captured it, killing off all its occupants and captured those who surrendered. The teams claimed victory on the base, immediately calling the camp to move into the base. The drones hovered around the base, and by daybreak, most of the debris has been removed and the camp in the jungle had moved into the captured base. Rina was sitting by the command centre steps and looking at the base grounds, filled with pock marks and debris from the battle that ended early that day. Commander Nandi Andhika walked towards Rina to congratulate her.

"Thank you so much, Rina. Your team had led us to our first victory in four years. We owe you our gratitude," said Nandi, shaking Rina's hand. Then he left to see the command centre. Arthuria came by and sat beside Rina.

"That was one hell of a battle," commented Arthuria.

"Yup, sure is. Sure is," replied Rina. They both looked at the crack of light that pierced through the clouds and reached the base grounds.

"The winds of fate have changed," commented Arthuria. They both smiled while looking at the light that started to emerge from the cloudy sky.

* * *

As the weeks passed, Sumatra fell into Eurasian hands. The other bases in the island were destroyed and captured and the remaining Nationalist soldiers surrendered or killed in battle. Troops from the peninsula were dropped in to secure the island. A small landing strip was made just outside Palembang a few days ago and an aircraft landed. Out came troops and supplies that could make the island last through the war. Commander Nandi Andhika was inspecting at the captured command centre, with all the equipment wired up and communications set to relay to the centre in Kuala Lumpur, when Rina and her team came to meet him.

"Commander Nandi, thank you for your hospitality. But now we really have to go back to the peninsula as duty has called us," said Rina.

"Sure. I hoped that you could stay with us a bit longer, but as we say; duty calls. It cannot be helped, but if it brings us one step towards victory, then God be with you," replied Nandi. Rina and her team waved goodbye to Commander Nandi as they head to the airstrip to be airlifted out of the island.

"South East Asian people are so friendly," commented Kairi.

* * *


	22. Act II: Epsilon Delta Joint Ops

Rina and her team arrived at a place called as the Putra World Trade Centre. There, a new command centre had been set up and the place was as busy as ever. At the front where a big projector screen with a map of South East Asia and little symbols to represent military movements in the area, a big table were several commanders were discussing their next move; notably Commander Wilson Cheah, Commander Zulkifli and Commander Patrick Lam. An Intel officer announced their arrival to the commanders. Rina and her team saluted to the commanders.

"Welcome back, Delta 13. We're just planning our assaults on the other Indonesian islands to slow down the Nationalists movements upward," stated Patrick.

"Your contributions on the battlefield have made our counter-offensive easier. For that, a Japanese commander wants your services on one of its islands," said Wilson.

"Where would it be?" asked Rina.

"Why don't you ask the twins?" said Wilson, pointing at Saya and Diva. Saya and Diva had a confused look on their faces.

"Um…., excuse me, but where?" asked Saya. Wilson sighed.

"Where else? Your home town," replied Wilson.

"Okinawa," said Diva.

"The Japanese commander, Kai Miyagusuku, requires Delta 13's assistance on retaking the island," said Wilson.

"KAI??!!!!" exclaimed the twins, extremely surprised looks on their faces.

"Do you have a problem?" asked Patrick.

"No,no,no,no,no,no,no. Nothing sir," replied the twins, waving both their hands. Rina and Arthuria sweat-dropped.

"Very well then. You may get ready. The flight is in 30 minutes," stated Wilson.

* * *

"Care to give an explanation to your actions at the command centre?" asked Rina. They were on the plane which was en route to Taiwan.

"Who is this, 'Kai Miyagusuku'? Both of you seem to know him very well," asked Arthuria. The twins stayed silent for a while, looking at each other before Saya spoke out.

"He was a friend back before the war started. We stayed next to each other and gone to the same school. He has the attitude and looks that many girls like, especially us," explained Saya.

"HE WAS SO CUTE!!!!" exclaimed Diva. Saya sighed.

"My sister likes him very much to the point of writing secret love letters." Diva blushed.

"There was this one time where she wrote so much love letters that they actually spooked him into thinking that someone is stalking him……," said Saya before Diva butted in.

"Stop Saya. Don't let me tell them that one time you 'accidentally' spilled orange juice on his shirt so that you can see his abs while changing," snapped Diva.

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did."

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did."

"Girls, jeez! Stop acting like little children. Both of you are 17, going on 18 now," said Rina.

"Sorry Rina," both of them replied sheepishly.

* * *

The plane landed on an airstrip on the outskirts of Taipei. It was foggy and the city was barely seen. The team got out of the plane and was greeted by two officers.

"Welcome to Taiwan. I'm Brigadier General Shang Kai Shen and this is my partner, Lieutenant Hong Hao Lam," said the officer that shook hands with Rina.

"你好. I'm Rina Kreig of Delta 13 with my team," said Rina, shaking their hands.

"I'm well, thank you. Commander Kai requested your presence. We'll take you to the base," said Shang as he led the team to a jeep on standby. They got into the jeep and the jeep began the journey along the winding path that hugged the mountains.

"This will take a while. Ever since Taipei has been bombed, we can't get through the city. We had to use the long way route around the island," stated Shang. Kairi and Namine were well asleep at the back seat before Shang informed about the trip. The rest nodded. Rina looked out of the window on the right side of the jeep. The sea was glittered with the reflection of the sun; partly covered by the clouds. Rina then turned to her left only to see Arthuria snoozing away. She looked back only to see Saya and Diva also snoozing with Kairi and Namine. They slept quite soundly. Rina smiled and continued to look outside the window. Now she spots a destroyer moving in the opposite direction, with a little helicopter taking off from its deck. The helicopter took off and disappeared into the horizon. The destroyer, however, continued to move slowly on the sea before Rina lost sight of it when they entered a tunnel.

* * *

The jeep entered a desolate army compound with dirt and debris cluttered on the ground. The jeep entered an abandoned hangar and stopped at a spot; the ground beneath the jeep shifted and started to sink underground. The team, now fully awake, looked outside the windows to see a large underground military complex, fully powered and fully armed. It looks like it was pulled out from some Japanese sci-fi manga. After all, Japan did rule Taiwan until after World War II and continued to project its influence after that war. The lift reached a bay and the jeep entered the bay. Shang, Hong and the team came out from the jeep and entered the central complex. Everything was white; white lights blinking and white desks filled the space with a white personal computer on every desk. There were people in white uniforms manning the desks, punching the keyboards with their fingers dancing over the keys. A woman stood up and carried a piece of paper and walked towards a door at the edge of the complex. Another door opened; this time an elevator door, opened and a red-haired Japanese man with a Bluetooth earpiece device on his right ear. He was wearing a white military uniform that looked fit for an admiral with 2 stars on the top of his shirt pocket. He walked towards the team with two people flanking him. Shang, Hong and Epsilon team saluted. Kai saluted back.

"Welcome Delta 13….." said Kai before he caught sight of Saya and Diva.

"Is my eyes playing tricks on me…….." commented Kai as he approached. Saya and Diva waved shyly at him. Rina, Arthuria, Kairi and Namine sweat-dropped.

"SAYA! DIVA! It's been quite a while!" exclaimed Kai, opening his arms wide as if he wanted to hug them. After looking at their 'confused and irritated' looks on their faces, he quickly faked a cough and put out his hand to shake hands with them. The twins acknowledged him, and Kai told the team to follow him to the briefing room.

Once in the briefing room, Kai stood in front of the room and spoke.

"Delta 13, I am honored that you have come to serve with us in retaking Japan's islands," said Kai.

"Duty calls. That's our motto," said Rina.

"So, what's in store for us?" asked Arthuria.

"The successes your team had on the archipelago have made the Japan high command to seek for your assistance. Okinawa is the only island in Japan that has a fully-operational Nationalist military base that is stopping us to gain control over the Pacific."

"本土はどうですか？ (What about the mainland?)" asked Namine and Kairi, who spoke for the first time since Indonesia.

"本土の兵士しているだけでは不十分。彼らは軍の本土以外の追加を要請した。 (Mainland has not enough soldiers. They requested for additional troops outside the mainland.)," replied Kai.

"English, please," said Arthuria.

"He said that the mainland had not enough troops for the assault and wished the coalition would supply additional troops. I guess the coalition sent us as part of the additional force," explained Kairi. Arthuria just nodded.

"本土からのどの部分ですか？ (Which part of the mainland are you from?) asked Kai.

"本土京都 (Mainland Kyoto)," replied the twins in unison. Everyone except Arthuria, who couldn't understand a word of Japanese, stared at them.

"Kyoto, the first city. It must have been bad. Were you there?" asked Kai.

"No, we were at England when the bombs struck. Studying," replied Namine. A tear formed from her eye.

"I feel sorry for your loss. We'll take revenge at Okinawa, ok?" stated Kai. The twins just nodded sadly.

"Ok, with the arrival of Delta 6 and 7, we will launch the strike tomorrow morning," stated Kai before dismissing the team.

* * *


	23. Act II: The Paradrop

Rina aimed her rifle into the fog. The sun was nothing but a dim light. It was a very cold morning with dues forming on the grass blades. Just moments ago, her team and three others were Para dropped onto Okinawa Island. The fog was supposed to be good cover for their landing, but it was also hard for the teams as they couldn't see where to land. All Rina knew was that she landed at an observation point with distinctive features such as concrete railings, floors and behind her; a wall of rock of the mountain. She took out her hand-held GPS from her pouch and checked her coordinates. According to her hand-held GPS, she was facing the East side of the island and the other teams were scattered all around the West side.

"I hope they're okay," thought Rina. Then her radio crackled.

"This is Commander Kai. Rina, is it true that you're at the observation post on the East side of the mountain?" asked in the radio.

"Yeah, kind of," replied Rina. The place was still hazy and Rina can barely see anything beyond the steps that were leading down the mountain and the city that was supposed to be at the foot of the mountain.

"Hold that position until we arrive. That is a good place to observe the city and the base once the fog clears off," replied the radio. Rina took out her knife and cut the straps of the parachute that held her when she floated down. Then she heard footsteps coming up the steps. She quickly grabbed her rifle and ran to the edge of the observation point, where the cliff face bends to create a blind spot. Out came two Nationalist guards, one smoking and the other looking around. They were on guard duty. One of them kicked something and looked at the floor. It was the parachute bag that Rina took off. At the corner, Rina flipped the switch on her HKG36MkV rifle to set it to sniper mode and glanced off the corner.

"What's this?" said the guard as he picked up the bag.

"Looks like the enemy's parachute. I'll tell HQ," said the other guard as he grabbed the radio from his belt pouch. Rina quickly shot him on the head and pulled the bolt for the bullet casing to come out. The other guard was shocked and tried to run away but Rina shot him at the back. The guard tried to move away but Rina shot him again. The guy gave an ear-splitting yell before Rina had to shoot him again to silence him. Now that everybody knows that she was here, she quickly grabbed her radio and called in.

"Nationalists know were here. Sneak up here if you have to," said Rina before turning off the radio. She waited at the corner of the cliff face and aimed at the steps. More footsteps were heard running up.

"Great, more of them," muttered Rina. Five Nationalist troopers came up and discovered the guards' bodies. Rina quickly shot at the troopers and managed to disable one. The other four fired back, pinning her down. Rina flipped the switch to automatic fire and fired at them like a machine gun. She managed to kill off three of them when the remaining two threw a grenade at her position. She quickly jumped out of the position and fired at the remaining troopers. She managed to kill the fourth one and was about to kill the fifth when her rifle jammed.

"Damn!" she quickly pulled out her pistol and aimed at the trooper. The trooper, whose rifle ran out of bullets, pulled out his pistol as well. They both shot each other. Rina was hit on the shoulder blade, so she dropped her pistol and fell down. The trooper, however, looked shocked as blood trickled from his forehead. A bullet wound. The trooper flopped on the ground with a heavy thud. Rina tried to get up and looked at her bullet wound. Luckily her Kevlar stopped the bullet from going any further, so all she got was a sore shoulder. She pulled the bullet out of the Kevlar and began dumping the bodies over the observation post. She also dumped the parachute she used so it would be lost at the foot of the mountain.

"I bet they won't find them until we take over," thought Rina. She grabbed her jammed rifle and hid behind the same corner and started fixing it.

* * *

Kai and the other team members raced up the steps toward the observation post that Rina landed. Kai told Delta 6 to keep guard at the steps entrance while he and his team, Epsilon and Delta 7 ran to the observation point. He had his FAMAS rifle in front of him, ready to fire at anything that moves. They reach the top only to be met with dried blood on the ground of the observation post.

"Rina! Rina! You here?" called out Saya.

"I'm here, Saya. Behind the cliff face," replied Rina as she popped out from the corner.

"What happened?" asked Kai.

"Patrols found me, but they haven't called back to base. We might have to change our tactics because they might realize that we arrived, and also…..." explained Rina as she pulled out her rifle. "My rifle's busted."

"Now the rifle failed?" asked Kairi in astonishment. "Now that's a three-year service length." Kai was a bit distraught about Rina's busted rifle and wanted to offer his.

"Don't worry, Kai. I got the enemy's rifle and ammo," said Rina as she pulled the bolt on the Bushmaster ACR and rested it on her shoulder.

"Alright then. Let's go. Delta 7 will take this position," said Kai as he took out his radio and begun descending the steps. Arthuria went close to Rina.

"What did you do with the bodies?" whispered Arthuria.

"Dumped them down there," replied Rina, pointing at the edge of the observation post.

"Right," muttered Arthuria.

* * *

"There are six gun positions that need to be taken out so that our forces may land. Two of them are currently pointing North, the rest are pointing West at Kadena AFB," reported Delta 7 on the radio.

"Roger that, Delta 7. Keep me posted," replied Kai as his team prepared with Epsilon and Delta 6. He looked around to see trees and the boundary of the forest, where a cliff looked out onto the deserted Okinawa City.

"We'll go through the city. Delta 6 will go and take out the northern guns," said Kai. Rina tied her laces of her boots and then grabbed her rifle.

"Isn't that a bit bold, Commander Kai? To walk into a deserted city? Where enemy snipers are everywhere?" asked Rina.

"It looks deserted to me," replied Kai, looking through the forest boundary and at the ghost town below the cliff.

"I wouldn't count on that. And don't get me started on Tehran," said Arthuria.

"Yup, that one almost got her if she didn't trip and fall down over a pebble," said Rina, pointing her thumb at Arthuria. Arthuria could only set her hands on her hips, closed her eyes, smile and shook her head.

"Lucky girl," commented Kai before giving a hand signal for the teams to begin moving.

* * *

Kai's and Epsilon teams slowly crept through corners of dilapidated buildings at the abandoned Okinawa city. It started to rain heavily, clearing the fog but completely blurring their vision to a distance of a few meters. One of Kai's teammates, Mao, a brown haired girl, looked up front on her sniper scope and tried to spot for enemy snipers. Rina looked around the corner of the building they were hiding behind. She spotted two Nationalist troops walking with their backs at her and then disappearing at a corner. She signaled Arthuria to come closer to her.

"Can you spot any snipers at any buildings over there?" asked Rina, indicating the buildings around the corner. Arthuria quickly popped her head around the corner and came back. She has been reputed to have eagle vision.

"Not much I can see in this weather. But I'm a bit suspicious about that building with half a Jusco sign dangling above the entrance of the building," replied Arthuria. But that was good enough information. Rina called Namine to peek around the corner with her sniper rifle, poised at that suspicious building. Rina then called Kairi to come towards her.

"See that shingle over there? That should provide you some cover," said Rina, pointing at the shingle at the middle of the road. Kairi nodded.

"Go!" exclaimed Rina as Kairi dashed towards the shingle. A shot rang in the air, muffled by the pattering rain, hitting Kairi in the Kevlar as she dodged for cover. It gave Namine some time to find and kill the sniper, which was hiding in that suspected building. Rina wanted to rush to check on Kairi but two sets of faint running footsteps were heard. Rina could only see through the rain that Kairi was putting a thumbs-up at her. Namine, on the other hand, was looking through the scope, aimed at one of the soldiers. Arthuria grabbed her and pulled her off the ground.

"No, Namine. Wait for them to come closer," said Arthuria. Rina peeked around the corner and the soldiers were pointing towards them, only unable to see them. Kai came up with his FAMAS fitted with a silencer. Kai tapped Rina's shoulder to get a go ahead. Rina nodded. They waited for the soldiers to come very close to the shingle.

Kairi could do nothing but lie on the shingle she couldn't be spotted. Her breathing grew deeper as she became nervous as the footsteps grew louder. She gulped on her own saliva and tried to look up. Then the bodies fell down like bricks over her. Kairi wanted to scream but sealed her mouth shut. She tried to get up but the weight of the two bodies pushed her down. Kai and Rina raced to her to lift the bodies away.

"Whew! That was close. I almost screamed," commented Kairi. Kai signaled the other members to run across the street into another corner. Rina lifted her up and carried her to the other corner.

"Did you get shot?" asked Rina.

"Yeah, right in the Kevlar. I swore I could've outrun that bullet," commented Kairi.

"Hey, no one's Superman here. Next time, that tactic won't happen again," replied Rina.

* * *


	24. Act II: Entering the Silo

The teams reached the outskirts of the Nationalist base. They scattered themselves among the rubble and dilapidated buildings. Once there, Rina took out her binoculars and peered into it. She saw the base with rows of tanks on the tarmac, looking as though they knew an assault was brewing. The she shifted an attention to the base hangars. The jets were prepped and ready for takeoff. An Apache zoomed past her hideout and headed for the tarmac before landing. Then a C-130 landed on the base runways and all the soldiers there got to work. Then she spotted her targets. Four coastal cannons were in the base, looking very new, unmanned and unused. But what surprised her was that the cannons were being dismantled by the Nationalist soldiers.

"That's odd," she thought. The she moved her attention to the grounded C-130 and came her answer. Out from the cargo bay of the plane came out a nuclear device, and it was being taken into one of the hangars of the base.

"Kai, did you see that?" asked Rina on her radio.

"Yea, I think they're trying to lure us into a trap. I'll contact the Delta 7," replied Kai. Kai switched the radio to long-wave radio to contact Delta 7.

"Delta 7, do you copy?" asked Kai on the radio. White noises were heard.

"Delta 7, do you copy??!!" repeated Kai. Still white noises were heard.

"畜生！" remarked Kai before someone picked up the radio.

"This is Private Mark of Delta 7. We've been compromised and are now tracking us. Delta 6 didn't make it," replied the hasty voice.

"Private Mark, where are you?" asked Kai, alarmed.

"Can't tell sir! They're after me! They've managed to crack our military codes….." said the voice before several gunshots rang in the air and the radio disconnected. Kai quickly radioed the other team members.

"We've been compromised. Quickly regroup at the safe house," radioed Kai. He hoped the Nationalists did not track his signal as he left his hiding spot.

* * *

The two teams managed to regroup at a safe house, which is a dilapidated warehouse, just at the outskirts of Okinawa City. Everyone took a seat on one of the crates that were lying around the warehouse.

"Our link to the outside world is cut; we're down to this last 12 and the Nationalists are hot on our trail. Any suggestions?" asked Kai to the other members.

"Now that they have a nuclear device and are waiting for our assault teams; we can't risk losing the entire assault team," commented Rina.

"Rina, didn't you have that hologram computer with you?" asked Arthuria.

"It wouldn't work, as Kai said, they're hot on our trail. We can't risk exposing our position," replied Rina.

"Well, all I can think of now is to get in and capture the weapon, even to the point of detonating it," said Kai.

"So you're saying we should sacrifice ourselves to enter that fully-equipped and fortified base to reach the bomb only to detonate it? Even if we do get out they would've defused the charges we've planted," commented Arthuria. She thought that Kai's plan would be ridiculous.

"I'm staying in," said Kai. Everyone was surprised. Kai was serious.

"You don't mean……," stuttered Saya.

"Yes, I do mean it. If that's the only way to win this war, I'm willing to sacrifice my life for it," replied Kai.

* * *

The team was back at the outskirts of the base. This time, Mao, Namine and Kairi were ordered to stay behind to act as cover fire for the teams to enter the base. Mao was sobbing as she hugged Kai, as this was the last time she was going to see him.

"It's ok, Mao. It's ok. We all have to make sacrifices. All I'm asking you is to remember me when I'm gone," comforted Kai as he patted the sobbing girl's head. Mao was still sobbing. Kai brought her head to face him.

"Can you? Just nod will do," said Kai. Mao gave a weak nod. Kai then pressed his lips against hers before letting her go. In the background, the rest of the team looked at them, feeling sad as he let go of her. Kai then approached them.

"Are you ready, Kai?" asked Rina.

"Yes, I am. Let's go," replied Kai in a very monotone voice. Kai shed a tear before leaving the hideout.

* * *

Several Nationalist troops were standing guard under the hot afternoon sun when shots rang and hit the guards. An explosion happened on the western side of the base. Epsilon and Kai's team ran into the base with guns blazing. It hit several other guards as more Nationalist troops poured out of the hangars and the base command centre with the alarms blaring. They quickly took cover behind some nearby military equipment. Some shots flew past over their heads. Bullets ricochet on the military equipment as the Nationalist soldiers inched closer to them. Arthuria looked up and released a few shots at them. They managed to take cover. The snipers took their shots. They tried stopping the Nationalist from reaching their tanks, but some eventually did.

"Tanks coming your way," reported Kairi on the radio.

"Ok, let's move!" said Kai as he left his hiding spot. He quickly rushed in and shot some Nationalist troops before taking cover behind a forklift.

"This guy is nuts!" commented Arthuria as she came out before hiding behind some barrels of oil and boxes of explosives. Bullets were flying past and piercing through the barrels and explosives.

"This is definitely not my day," commented Arthuria before setting the oil on fire and jumping out to another hiding spot not far. The explosives exploded, giving a false indication that she was killed. Gunfire was then concentrated to the others when Arthuria took a chance to launch a grenade at a group of soldiers, thus killing them. That cleared the way for Rina and the rest to push forward into the base. Saya threw some smoke grenades to blur the Nationalist forces. The tanks were finally mobilized, bun since this was Epsilon, the team that has a reputation of destroying almost anything the Nationalists had to offer, Rina and her teammates quickly ran to the blinded tanks and planted C4 explosives on their engines. The tanks went up in flames; and with the Nationalist quite disorganized, the teams took the chance to rush into the hangar, killing anyone who was in their way. When they entered the hangar, all they see was just empty space.

"Damn, where did they move it?!" cursed Kai. Then Arthuria saw a displacement of the floor of the hangar.

"Underground," she commented as everyone else looked at the floor displacement. The floor started to sink, and they quickly hopped on the platform. They all lay low and looking at all directions as the underground complex unfolds before them. Several Nationalist troops were marching towards the sinking platform; the teams quickly fired at them and the people around the complex. Some ran helter-skelter but were mowed down by the teams. The teams moved quickly dodging some stun grenades thrown by the Nationalist troops and started to throw some frag grenades of their own. They quickly swept the floor of the complex, heading towards a panel with a huge screen of the world map. There were Chinese coastal cities and Japanese cities marked on the screen. An automated PA system announced the launch time.

"Missile launch in 15 minutes," announced the PA system. Kai stared directly at the screens.

"A nuclear missile. Short-range. Will dodge our ASAT systems and will hit all the marked cities with a 99% probability," commented Kai.

"Saya, can you hack into the computers to stop the system?" asked Rina. Saya quickly ran her fingers through the keyboards.

"I can try but……." Then the computer bleeped, giving out an error and the entire system was locked down.

"That's our problem," remarked Saya.

"Looks like we have to blow it up, manually," commented Rina.

"C'mon, let's go," said Kai as he headed towards one of the doors with the sign 'Fuel Room' dangling above the door. The team quickly followed suit.

* * *

There were a few Nationalist soldiers and scientists checking on the rocket fuel lines section when Kai kicked the door open of that section and Rina came past, shooting everyone on sight. Then the team followed through and secured the perimeter.

"Quick, plant the radio bombs to the fuel line!" ordered Kai as he pointed to the fuel line. One of his teammates quickly planted a radio bomb on the fuel line and gave Kai the detonator. Kai then quickly pushed a button to open the blast doors, leading to a tunnel.

"Get out of here! The blast will penetrate through these blast doors. I'll detonate the bomb from here so nobody else disarms this bomb!" exclaimed Kai before turning to the door they entered. Rina grabbed hold of his shoulder. He turned to Rina.

"You sure about this?" asked Rina. Kai just looked at her with sad eyes before turning away.

"Just go," said Kai. Rina let go of his shoulder.

"C'mon, let's go," she commanded while running through the blast doors. The rest left as well, but Saya and Diva did not leave immediately. They both gave Kai a surprise hug before leaving.

"Be careful," said Diva before both of them went past the blast doors. Kai quickly closed the blast doors and waited at a corner, giving them time to run far enough. Suddenly some Nationalist troops came into the section and fired at him. He dodged the bullets, but a shot hit his hand, making him drop the detonator.

"畜生！" exclaimed Kai as he dropped the detonator wide in the open. He quickly took his rifle and fired all his rounds, hitting some of the Nationalist troops. He quickly leaped to the detonator and pushed the button. When the Nationalists fired at him, he yelled "Banzai!" before slumping dead on the ground. The radio bomb exploded, causing a chain reaction which led to the nuclear missile. The missile has been destroyed, not allowing it to be used on any Asian city it was targeted at.

* * *


	25. Act II: The Australian Advance

Epsilon and the remnants of Kai's team found themselves a truck to use. The team hopped to the back of the truck and Arthuria hopped into the seat on the right side of the vehicle and found the steering wheel on the left.

"Dammit! Why do they have to drive on the wrong side of the road!" exclaimed Arthuria before reaching the driver's seat and hotwire the vehicle. The engine started and she jammed on the gas pedal. She set the gear on low and the vehicle zoomed out of the tunnel in record time. The balls of flames tried to catch up with the truck, but with Arthuria's excellent driving, they managed to escape the flames and ended on the base tarmac. She quickly maneuvered the truck through the burning debris and found an Apache helicopter tailing them. It fired a few rockets but missed the truck. The shockwave was enough to through Arthuria and the truck around, but Arthuria kept the truck in line and at the same time dodging the helicopter's fire. And then, the helicopter exploded. Apparently, the helicopter was hit by a Javelin missile. Arthuria looked around for the person who fired. It was Mao, her brown hair waving in the wind, standing next to a weapons stash with Kairi and Namine flanking her. Arthuria quickly maneuvered the truck towards them and open the side doors.

"Hop in! The base is about to go up!" exclaimed Arthuria. They quickly hopped into the truck and the truck drove south as fast as it could. After driving for 10 kilometres, the base exploded into a mushroom cloud and the ground shook violently. Arthuria struggled with the truck, and she managed to gain control and drove faster. The shockwave was dampened by the ground as it was underground, thus there was no nuclear fallout. Arthuria drove until they reached Naha, where they stopped at a beach. They got off the trucks and saw some Shenyang J-11s flying in the skies, bombing the airport nearby, and followed by transport helicopters and aircraft. The aircraft dropped its load of infantry into the city, while the helicopters flew into the city, trying to find places to drop their infantry. Saya threw a smoke grenade on the ground and waited at position. Rina dropped her equipment on the ground and pulled a beach chair to where she fancy seating. Arthuria stood by her, slinging the rifle to her back. The sun was about to set. Another day has passed.

"That's one step closer to victory, Arthuria," said Rina, lying on the beach chair and crossing her legs. Arthuria knelt down and grabbed a handful of sand and poured into a can with the label "Okinawa" on its cap. She closed the cap and slid it into her skirt pocket.

"Yup, one step closer," replied Arthuria. A helicopter spotted the smoke at the beach and approached for landing.

"We have to go already?" asked Rina as she watched the approaching helicopter.

"I smell of gunpowder and sweat, Rina. Don't you?" asked Arthuria.

"Good point," replied Rina before getting up and entering the helicopter. The helicopter took off and head towards the sunset.

* * *

A shower had never been this refreshing! Rina was enjoying every bit of her hot shower in a cubicle aboard the JS Kyoto, sailing on its way to Taiwan. She let the hot water run down her body while she scrubbed her body with soap. Then the shower at the adjacent cubicle turned on. A familiar voice sang out as the person sang in the shower. There was a few parts where the song went out of tune.

"Arthuria, that's terrible," Rina teased.

"You can't do better yourself, Rina," she retorted. Rina giggled at Arthuria's comment before putting shampoo on her brown hair.

"Hey Arthuria," called Rina. "Do you happen to like Russians?"

"Well, without their arrogance and horrible accent, yea I do," replied Arthuria.

"Wow, your standards are high. Not to mention you're a bit arrogant," commented Rina.

"What!?" Arthuria exclaimed in the most purest of British accents. "Who says I'm arrogant?"

"There you go," replied Rina.

"Ay, just because my accent is British doesn't mean I'm arrogant!" she rebutted. Rina sighed while scrubbing shampoo off her hair.

"So, how about you? What are you interested in?" asked Arthuria.

"A German man. Tough build, Tall….." said Rina, slightly blushing.

"That's a bit rascist isn't it? Why not Russian or British?" teased Arthuria.

"Just because I like one type doesn't mean I'm rascist!" retorted Rina. Arthuria giggled at Rina's retort. Rina turned off the shower and came out of the cubicle with a tower wrapped around her body. She reached to a set of new uniform in her bag and started wearing her undergarments. Arthuria came out seconds later.

"Ah! I'm so refreshed!" exclaimed Arthuria as she had a towel wrapped around her body and a small towel wrapped over her head like a turban.

"Hey Arthuria, want to see the Russian I was talking about?" asked Rina as she drew out a picture of Ivan Gredenko and showed it to Arthuria. Arthuria had her eyes wide open and was blushing a little. Rina smirked.

"I see love at first sight…….," whispered Rina to Arthuria's ear. Arthuria snapped out of her trance and turned her head away.

"N-nn-n-o-ooo, I don't think he's my type," remarked Arthuria. Rina frowned at the answer.

"Admit it, you want him," teased Rina. Arthuria's cheeks were blushing red.

"He's a bit cute…," replied Arthuria.

"It is him then! Here you go!" exclaimed Rina before handing the photo to Arthuria, wearing the rest of her clothes and racing out of the shower room, leaving Arthuria to stare at the picture with her face red and confused.

* * *

It was dawn. A Nationalist Humvee was driving on the streets of Nationalist-controlled Perth city. The city was in ruins from the nuclear detonation on the city five years ago, thought there has been some reconstruction of Nationalist buildings in the area. Many of the people were walking with their heads down, unknowing of the oncoming invasion of the Western Australia state. The Humvee exited the city and headed north to the Scarborough beach. That was when a bomb struck the Humvee from the sky. Then several massive hovercrafts skied across the water and onto the beaches. Several artillery rounds flew in but missed the hovercrafts. Jeeps and Type-99 Chinese tanks rolled out of the craft. One jeep came close to a hidden landmine and exploded, sending its occupants flying in all directions. A smoke trail cut across the sky as a Nationalist Raptor crashed into the beach, its pilot long ejected from his aircraft. A soldier from the hovercraft ran out and launched a rocket at an oncoming Nationalist Abrams tank. The missile bounced off its armor, and the tank fired at one of the hovercrafts. The craft was rendered broken and beached. Other hovercraft turned back into the ocean after unloading its load. The Chinese Type-99 tanks outgunned the Abrams tank and blew it to bits. From the north, transport planes dropped troops into the Karrinyup area, with PT-91 and Leopard tanks rolling in from the North Beach landing area. Several gunships, transport helicopters and jets approached east, heading towards Perth International Airport. A Eurocopter Cougar with Epsilon team was in that group.

"Perth Airport, ETA 5 minutes," announced the pilot. Rina and her team put on their earpieces and looked towards the back of the helicopter.

"ETA, 3 minutes," said the pilot. Rina checked the ammo in the magazine of her HK G36 rifle, Arthuria charged up the laser rifle that has been recently produced for field trail, and the rest carried their specialized rifles to battle. Saya and Diva had their MP5 SMGs and Kairi and Namine were carrying their Arctic Magnums.

"Sad the new rifles were phased out, they stood quite a long time," commented Kairi.

"Yea, but they're very bulky for smaller people, you have to meet the height requirements of 5ft 2in just to hold the rifle itself. That rifle was a whopping 4ft 11in for a start," replied Rina.

"I guess you're right, but this is even bulkier," commented Arthuria, showing the laser rifle and the battery pack she was carrying around her waist. "I feel like a walking bomb, for Christ sake!"

"Oh stop complaining, they're fuel cells. They don't go kaboom like a nuclear bomb. You watch too much 'Terminator'," replied Rina.

"Furthermore, the weight of the damn rifle and the battery packs only weighs 4 kilos," commented Saya.

"30 seconds," said the pilot. The back of the helicopter started to open, showing the ground several feet below. The helicopter was in hover, slowly landing on the ground. Several helicopters in the distance were also slowly landing on the tarmac, with the rest of the attack helicopter group launching volleys of missiles onto the airport terminals and hangars. Jets zoomed past and bombed the fortified control towers, leading to the tower's collapse.

"Go! Go! Go!" said the pilot as the helicopter landed on the tarmac. Epsilon quickly exited the helicopter and looked at the surroundings. Several gunshots were ricocheting off the tarmac and the helicopter hastily took off. The other helicopters took off quickly after unloading troops on the tarmac. A missile came flying by and hit a helicopter taking off the tarmac.

"Oh hot damn!" exclaimed Rina. She quickly waved the team to move forward towards the international terminal. There were some airport trucks laying burnt near the terminal. They took cover behind them as a hail of bullets from machine gun emplacements around the terminal opened fire. The machine guns did level some troop squadrons, but most of them took cover behind some burnt vehicles and debris scattered over the tarmac.

"Are the AC-130s in the sky?" asked Rina on the radio, with bullets ricocheting off the burnt trucks. A vehicle blew up as bullets pierced its fuel tanks, sending some of the soldiers nearby flying off or stunned, becoming prone targets to the machine guns.

"Not yet, we still haven't got the skies cleared up. A few friendly APCs and tanks are coming to assist you at the moment," replied command. A missile flew past and hit the tarmac not far from where they were hiding.

"Negative, they have missile launchers, will pose threat to armored vehicles," replied Rina.

"You just cover us from those missile guys, we'll try to take care of the machine gunners," replied command.

"Great…," muttered Rina.

"Kairi, Namine, get to a good sniping position and see where the missile trails come from. Hit the guys there," commanded Rina, pointing to a sandbag covering near Gate 3 of the terminal.

"Copy that, just give us covering fire," said Kairi. Kairi and Namine got ready to run to the other covering position.

"Covering fire!" announced Rina as she fired some rounds at the machine gunners, giving time for Kairi and Namine to run to the cover. One machine gunner spotted them running, but kept missing them by mere inches. They managed to get to the cover and looked at the terminal for missile soldiers. One launched a missile at them.

"Duck!" yelled Kairi before both of them ducked behind the sandbags before the missile hit. Only sand was kicked off into the air. Namine quickly acquired her target before sniping the missile soldier. Kairi got her share, hitting a machine gunner who would be pinning them down if they didn't shoot any sooner.

"Arthuria, now's a good time to test that laser," said Rina. Arthuria quickly took a quick glance at the machine gun emplacements with bullets missing her head by mere inches before getting back to cover. She quickly estimated the positions of the emplacements before aiming at the positions and firing off in burst rounds. The lasers cut through the sandbags like a hot knife through butter, damaging the machine gun and also hitting the gunner behind the emplacement.

"Wow, that was cool," commented Arthuria before firing another few bursts again. But then the rifle became too hot that Arthuria had to let go.

"Ack, it's too hot!!" exclaimed Arthuria as she let go of the rifle and unbuckled the battery pack from her waist.

"That's why it's called experimental, Artie," commented Rina before standing up and firing a few rounds before ducking back. Arthuria had no primary weapon, thus had to fare do with a Desert Eagle. Then the radio crackled.

"This is the 5th Calvary coming in from the North. We'll try hold them off long enough for the Spectre gunships to arrive. State your position," said the commander of the squadron.

"We are pinned down behind debris near the terminals. We still haven't cleared them of missile soldiers," replied Rina. Then she heard some vehicles moving in from behind. She looked back and saw several PT-91 and Type-99 tanks spreading themselves around the terminal, firing shells with ACV-300s behind them, opening the back of their vehicles and emptying their troops. Some missiles hit the tanks, but bounced off from the armor. Then a Javelin missile hit a PT-91 near Gate 1 and destroyed it. The soldiers from the ACVs moved fast, launching grenades into the terminal, though the Nationalist forces were still resisting the firepower the Eurasian forces were offering. Then the radio crackled again.

"AC-130s in the skies. Pinpoint the locations with lasers from a safe distance and we'll take care of it," said the radio.

"Everyone! Get behind the tanks! The Spectre gunships are here!" shouted Rina before running towards the tanks. A Type-99 fired a shell near Rina, disorientating her a bit before she gained her footing and hid behind the tank. The rest of the first assault wave ran back and quickly marked the locations with their laser sights. Missiles flew past them, but were all misses. Another Javelin got through and hit an ACV, throwing some of the troops nearby off their feet. Namine quickly spotted the soldier and took him out. The locations were marked, and a volley of shells and bullets came down from the skies, softening the fortifications on the terminal. At the same time, more troops were Para-dropped into the scene, mostly Russian or Chinese troops with RPGs. They quickly acquired positions behind the armored vehicles, launching volley after volley of rockets into the structure.

"Man, that's overkill," commented a soldier nearby. Then a blonde girl with TSWAT uniform and carrying a shotgun raced towards Rina.

"And who would you be?" asked Rina.

"Alice Peach from Italy. I've been sent here on recommendation by Commander Douglas Kreig to fill in a position in your team," replied the blonde girl with a tinge of her Italian accent, saluting at her. Rina was surprised at the phrase 'on recommendation by Douglas Kreig', but welcomed her into the team.

"This is his sister, Rina. Welcome to the team," replied Rina and offering a handshake. Arthuria and the rest of the team raced and regrouped at Rina, Arthuria having acquired a Steyr AUG rifle.

"Rina, are we ready for breach?" asked Arthuria before turning her attention to the new team member. "Who are you, lady?"

"Peach from Italy. My brother's recommendation," replied Rina on behalf of the Italian team member.

"You must be really good just to get a recommendation from the commander's brother," responded Arthuria.

"Peach, we're breaching of what's left of the terminal. You're going in first," commanded Rina. Peach nodded and headed towards a door at the far end of the terminal. Rina was about to head there until Arthuria grabbed her by the shoulder.

"You're going a bit harsh, are you? A newcomer and you put her in the front of the fire," commented Arthuria.

"Arthuria, I'm sure she'll survive. You can't simply be in here unless you're damn good or under my brother's recommendations. You know he's harsh on a person's abilities," responded Rina. They then headed towards the door for breach and got ready on either side of the door.

"Two soldiers inside," said Peach. Rina was surprised.

"How did you know?" asked Rina.

"I can hear them breathe," replied Peach. Rina turned to Arthuria.

"Set the charge," commanded Rina. Arthuria put a stun charge on the door and retreated behind Rina. The timer reached zero and the charge exploded, making the door accessible. Peach ran in first and fired a round at a soldier stunned by the charge. Rina came in later and shot the second soldier covering his ears. Arthuria came in third, looking and aiming towards the flight of stairs that curled up to the first floor. Peach quickly turned and fired a round at the wall near the first floor, where a Nationalist soldier slumped dead and a grenade fell from his hand and on the ground next to Peach. Arthuria quickly grabbed it and threw it back to the open doorway. The grenade set off seconds later.

"Thanks," said Peach.

"No problem," replied Arthuria. Rina came close to Arthuria's ear.

"See, told you my brother is harsh on abilities," muttered Rina. Arthuria sighed. Arthuria continued upstairs and stopped at the doorway. Peach followed suit, then Saya, Diva, Rina, Namine and lastly Kairi. Arthuria took a quick glance at the floor before reporting back.

"Several soldiers nearing the front of Gate 5," reported Arthuria.

"They're calling an artillery strike," said Peach. Arthuria made a quick decision and threw a stun grenade at the soldiers.

"Saya, Diva, up front," said Arthuria before the grenade blew off. Saya and Diva quickly went through the doorway, firing all rounds at the Nationalist soldiers setting position at a gaping hole near Gate 5. Peach followed soon after, firing a couple of rounds at the escalator, forcing a Nationalist soldier hiding there to take cover. Rina threw a grenade at the escalator before Namine threw a stun grenade at him. Arthuria came out after Kairi and fired a few rounds at Nationalists soldiers running at the top floor. Saya and Diva changed their magazines while the rest headed towards the escalator and headed down to the empty immigration counters and baggage reclaim areas. Then the radio crackled.

"Hullo, Delta 13. This is Jonsey with the Australian Freedom Forces, breaching the terminal. You will spot us wearing our stockman's hat," said the radio. Rina smiled.

"Good to hear you again, Jonsey," replied Rina as they put a C4 charge on the quarantine exit door.

"C4's are up!" exclaimed Arthuria as the team cleared off the area. After reaching a safe distance behind the counters, Arthuria pushed the trigger and the door blasted open. Several gunshots flew over the counters before the guns went silent. Saya looked around the corner and saw two soldiers hiding behind an overturned table. They fired a few rounds at Saya, causing her to jerk back into hiding.

"JESUS CHRIST!!!" she exclaimed as a loud shot rang and hit the two Nationalist soldiers. Rina and Arthuria quickly headed towards the opening and looked outside. There were several soldiers in the stockman's hat. One of them was Jonsey.

"G'day mates! Welcome to Australia!" he announced, resting his Barrett M82 on his shoulder with a few of his mates with sunglasses and slinging their Steyr AUG rifles at their backs.

"Nice seeing you again, Jonsey," said Rina, shaking his hand. An ACV parked outside the terminal building.

"We'd be heading to a safehouse in Wembley Downs while we wait for the next assault. Wanna come along?" asked Jonsey.

"Sure, no problem, if they didn't need us to secure the airport," replied Rina. Then the radio crackled.

"Delta 13, this is command. We have secured the airport. Get some rest and be here by 0400 hours. We're invading Sydney," said the radio. Jonsey looked at his wristwatch.

"That's 15 hours from now, come along," said Jonsey as the rest of his team headed towards the ACV. Rina let out a laugh before asking the rest of her team to follow her to the ACV.

* * *


	26. Act II: Final Resolution

They entered a house that looked like a dormitory. And north of the house were large fields of green. To the west was a large building with shattered glass scattered over its entrance. And to the east was an overview of Perth city, bellowing in smoke. Jonsey sighed.

"I used to live here, in this boarding house, as a Hale student….," said Jonsey. But Rina looked around the boarding house and saw a hotel instead.

"Are you sure this is a boarding house? Because it sure doesn't look like one," commented Rina. Jonsey chuckled.

"You sound like one of those parents years ago when they toured this school. Yes, it was one of it's' kind in those days…," sighed Jonsey.

"The beds are still good, Jonsey," said a voice from one of the wings.

"Cheers, Tommy," replied Jonsey.

"The TV still works, but it's all Nationalist propaganda," said another voice from one of the four rooms near the kitchen.

"Noted, Wannah," replied Jonsey.

"Hey, we've got some bacon, butter and oil in the fridge!" exclaimed the one in the kitchen, looking inside a working fridge.

"Its barbecue night tonight!" exclaimed Jonsey, the rest of his team cheering. Rina could just laugh at their antics.

* * *

The sky was getting dark. The barbecue pans were lighted up and the bacon was laid on the pans. The bacon sizzled on the pan, making anyone near it hungry for some much-needed meal. Jonsey was lighting up the fire; the person who found the bacon was taking a spatula and laying the bacon on the grill.

"Hey, Sting, do you even know how to cook?" teased Jonsey.

"Better than you are, Jonsey," replied Sting. Everybody else laughed. Then a PT-91 tank drove itself and parked near the boarding house, its occupants came out and into the boarding house.

"I smell bacon, spare some for us?" asked the tank commander.

"Since you asked so nicely, you're welcome," replied Jonsey. The tank crew went to the foyer and sat down on the chairs, waiting for the bacon to be done. After the bacon was done, they found some old plates and took a share from the grill. They enjoyed the meal though the bacon was a bit burnt.

"Mmmm, a decent meal in months," said the tank commander.

"Did you like it?" asked Sting.

"Absolutely, the war made us not picky eaters," replied one of the tank crew.

"So, what's your name?" asked Rina, giving a handshake.

"Oh, I'm Janice. And my tank crew, Lina the gunner, Sally the driver and Jane the turret gunner. We're all from Malaysia," said the tank commander, pointing to her other three tank crews. "How about you?"

"I'm Rina of Delta 13. We've got the Briton Arthuria, the Japs Kairi, Namine, Saya and Diva, and a new member, Italian Peach. I'm from Deutschland, by the ways," replied Rina.

"Ah, cool. We've got go soon though. We'll be sent to Adelaide by tonight," said Janice.

"Us too. We'll be sent to Sydney by 4 am," replied Rina.

"Anyways, we'd gotta get going. It's 8 pm. We have to regroup with the other tank squadrons," said Janice after looking at her wristwatch. Rina waved goodbye to them before they left.

* * *

It was 3 am. Jonsey's team was on guard duty, basically too anxious to sleep. Jonsey was cleaning his rifle at the kitchen table when Rina walked towards him.

"Hey," greeted Jonsey.

"Hey, Jonsey," replied Rina. Rina took a seat next to Jonsey.

"Can't sleep?" asked Jonsey.

"Yea pretty much," replied Rina, slumped her head on the tabletop.

"One hour to takeoff," said Jonsey.

"You don't have to remind me," said Rina, giggling a bit. Then she looked at Jonsey's eyes.

"I kinda like you," commented Rina. Jonsey blushed a bit. Rina reached out and landed a passionate kiss on his lips. It was for quite a while before Rina let go. Jonsey was breathless.

"That......was the first time a girl kissed me," commented Jonsey. Rina smiled. Then the sound of rotor blades became louder and louder.

"I guess this is where we part," said Rina, getting up from her chair.

"We'll meet again," said Jonsey.

"Don't make promises you can't keep," commented Rina. Jonsey gave a small laugh. Rina giggled a bit. She slipped a piece of paper with her caller code to Jonsey before the voice of Tommy called out to her and her team.

* * *

"What, delayed?!" exclaimed Rina.

"Something's wrong with the aircraft. We don't want to go crashing into the desert," said the commander.

"Then why pick us up so early?!" exclaimed Rina again. The commander was really on her nerves. With the extra hour, she could spend more time resting, or be with Jonsey.......

"Because the TSWAT regional commander wants to give you this," replied the commander, handing in a letter. Rina saw the envelope, but it has no name on it. She opened it and read the contents. It was in German. She read it out loud.

Dear Rina,

As my first directive as regional commander, I am suggesting that all TSWAT members serving in the Asia Pacific are to be discharged when Australia and New Zealand has been successfully captured, same with TSWAT Europe. TSWAT will then be disbanded. You all deserve it.

P.S. Guess what? I have been promoted!

Your old friend,

Melvin

"Cheeky bastard," commented Rina. The intelligence office that helped placed Vespin into her brother's team and advised them on battlefield terrain prior to their assaults, has now been put in charge of the Asia Pacific region. Then Saya walked towards Rina.

"Want a hot coffee?" asked Saya before noticing the letter Rina was holding.

"What's it say?" asked Saya, referring to the letter Rina was holding.

"Guess what? Our intelligence officer just got promoted," replied Rina.

"Really?! To what?" asked Saya, surprised.

"Regional commander," replied Rina. You could almost feel the ground shake as Saya 'fainted' at the sound of 'regional commander'.

"Oh my god! Seriously?!" exclaimed Saya.

"Yeah, it's all in the letter," replied Rina, showing Saya the letter.

"I can't read it," said Saya, giving a weird look.

"Because it's all in German," replied Rina, laughing at Saya's silly face.

"Forget about the coffee, you'll go hyper," commented Saya before leaving Rina.

"Saya, it was just a joke! C'mon, be sporting!" exclaimed Rina, chasing after Saya.

* * *

"ETA 5 minutes," announced the pilot. Rina and her team were wearing their parachutes. A flight attendant checked their parachutes and hooked them on the railings on the top of the fuselage.

"3 minutes," announced the pilot. The flight attendant stood by the exit door.

"1 minute," announced the pilot. The flight attendant opened the door. Then he received command.

"Officer, close the doors. We're getting outta here," said the pilot. The officer closed the door. The pilot then steered the plane away from Sydney.

"Hey, what's going on? Aren't we dropping in?" asked Rina.

"No, commander. We've got a report of a confirmed nuclear threat. We're heading to Canberra," replied the pilot. Some J-11 jets zoomed past the plane, causing it to shake under turbulence. Then a bright light pierced through the aircraft windows. A big bang was heard. After the light had dimmed a little, Rina looked outside. A mushroom cloud appeared, and the shockwave was rushing towards the plane. The shockwave rattled the aircraft violently.

"Hang on, we're getting outta here!" replied the pilot over the sound of the explosion. The aircraft's nose pointed upwards, increasing its altitude. The rattle became less apparent as the aircraft climbed upwards. Finally, the rattling gone, and the pilot stayed at altitude for a while before descending. After descending through the clouds, it headed towards Canberra. Rina looked out the window and saw a mushroom cloud and dust covering the area that was Sydney and its outskirts. Rina thought about all the troops that were in the area before the nuke went off.

"A moment of silence," declared Rina as everyone bowed their heads down. The plane left the area.

* * *

The plane landed on Canberra Airport. Several MiGs took off from the tarmac and Shenyang J-11s parking into the hangars. A Type-99 and PT-91 drove by as the plane neared the terminal. An airport truck came by the plane and started refueling the aircraft. The airport bridge closed in to one of the aircraft doors and the doors opened. Rina and her team stepped out of the aircraft and walked towards the terminal. A man was standing, waiting for them.

"Melvin!" greeted the team to Melvin.

"Hey, girls. At least you made it out," replied Melvin. He sounded sad.

"What were the casualties?" inquired Rina. Melvin looked down before answering.

"I don't know the estimate, but we lost Delta 4 in there. You were lucky the flight got delayed," replied Melvin in a monotone voice. They all kept quiet for a while.

"But, we've finally captured Australia. You all have been officially discharged," replied Melvin.

"Thanks Melvin, but what about the American mainland? Doesn't the army need our help?" inquired Rina.

"We've got more than enough soldiers to go through the American Invasion. All of you can finally go home. Just head to the immigration area, an officer will get you to your next flight home," said Melvin before turning around and leaving them.

"Home....We get to go home," said Saya. Saya and Diva hugged each other, shedding tears of joy. Kairi and Namine quickly made a run for the immigration area. Arthuria took a seat on a nearby bench.

"So, what now?" asked Arthuria.

"Go home," replied Rina. Then her cell phone vibrated. She took it out and saw a message. It was from Jonsey. It stated that he will continue on to the American Invasion, starting from Alaska. Rina closed the phone and kept it in her pocket. She started walking to the exit.

"Where are you going?" asked Arthuria.

"Alaska," replied Rina.

"If you're going, I'm coming along," said Arthuria, getting up from her seat and going side by side with Rina.

"Thanks for standing by me, Arthuria," said Rina

"Hey, we're still friends, eh? I won't let you die on me," replied Arthuria. They both laughed as they head towards the exit. The automatic doors open, letting an overflow of sunlight to pour from the door and onto their faces.

* * *

END PART III

* * *


	27. Act III: Nothern Frontier

"_The great masses of the people will more easily fall victims to a big lie than to a small one." Adolf Hitler._

Part IV: The Final Push

_(Two weeks prior to D-Day)_

"Remind me why we're here again?" asked Arthuria as she hugged herself, shivering in the cold of the Alaskan winter. The lake nearby was frozen solid, the ground was inches deep in snow, the sun barely pierced through the thick clouds of the dim-lighted morning. The Arctic wind was very strong; it sent chills through Arthuria although she was wearing three layers of thick winter clothing. She was looking at Rina nearby, sitting at a stump of a fallen tree, rifle slung behind her, her hair waving with the wind.

"We're on patrol?" suggested Rina, her nose and cheeks red from the chill of winter.

"No, the reason why we came here, to Alaska, the most god-forbidden place to assemble an invasion force," said Arthuria, shivering in the cold. Her teeth were clattering uncontrollably.

"To see the war till its end," replied Rina, looking out to the valley nearby. She saw something moving in the valley. She quickly took out her binoculars and looked the thing that was moving in the valley below. It was a bear. She sighed before keeping them in her pocket. Then she heard footsteps. She looked around and smiled.

"Hey, Rina. Did you spot anything lately?" asked Jonsey.

"Nothing, Jonsey. Just a bear," replied Rina.

"You've been out here for some time. Go back to HQ. I'll take it from here," said Jonsey. Rina walked towards him and pecked him on the cheek.

"Take care," said Rina before she started trekking back to headquarters. Arthuria walked next to her.

"I see. You're here because of him," commented Arthuria.

"You can say partly, but still I want to see the war till its end," replied Rina.

"Did he get lucky with you?" teased Arthuria. Rina gently nudged Arthuria, giggling.

"Oh I can see it in your eyes, Rina," teased Arthuria again. Rina took a handful of loose snow and threw it to Arthuria. It hit her square in the face. Arthuria was stunned.

"HEY! No one throws snow at Arthuria!" remarked Arthuria jokingly. She took a handful of snow and threw it at Rina. Rina dodged it and giggled.

"I'll get you!" exclaimed Arthuria, chasing Rina all the way to the headquarters.

* * *

After a ten minute trek through the snow-covered forest, they reached the base. The old American flag swayed with the winds, together with the new Australian and Canadian flags beside it. Helicopters with supplies landed in the base; M1 Abrams, Leopards and T-90 tanks were lined up and being de-iced by the maintenance crew. Some T-90s broke from the line up and started moving towards the exit. Some soldiers in white winter uniform marched with rifles resting on their arms. Rina and Arthuria reached the guard post and saluted to the guard on duty. The guard saluted back. Another guard inside the guard post saluted at them and asked how they were.

"Commander Rina, how's the patrol coming up?" asked the guard, with an accent hinting that he was Canadian.

"You can say we're safe for another night," replied Rina. Then her stomach growled out loud enough that the guard on duty also heard it. Rina blushed in embarrassment.

"A little hungry, eh? I tell you what, the cafeteria's open. They're serving hot soup today," said the guard.

"Thanks for telling me. C'mon Arthuria, I'm hungry," said Rina before getting through the post and heading for the main building of the base, where the cafeteria was.

They got into the cafeteria and the place was vibrant and packed. The people were lining up and taking their rations packed in white polyester packaging and cups of soup in white polyester cups. The aroma of the food further inflates their hunger, which they finally managed to take it after waiting at the long line. Rina and Arthuria then walked back to their barracks with the food.

After reaching their barracks, there were several women donned in their uniform wearing their winter coats as they prepare for outside patrol. One of the women spotted Rina and they saluted to her.

"Commander Rina," said the woman, and the others follow suit. Rina saluted back and said a few words.

"Careful out there. It's really, really cold," commented Rina before walking back to her bunk. Rina and Arthuria sat down and took a sip from their hot soup. They opened their tetra packs and ate the baked potato with tomato sauce on it. Then the base commander came into the room.

"Commander Rina," called the commander.

"Yes, Commander Phillip," said Rina, munching on her baked potato.

"You're being transferred to Winnipeg, where our coalition forces have finally taken over. From there, you will be coordinating strikes into the Nationalist mainland," explained Commander Phillip. Arthuria looked pleasing, since it was warmer there than Alaska, Eielson Airforce Base.

"Will Jonsey be there?" asked Rina. Arthuria stared at her. Commander Phillip shrugged.

"He'll be there after a few days, Rina. He has to help train our Resistance troops for our landing on the small farming community of Terrace. Better keep it out from Nationalist control," said Phillip.

"Why didn't you ask me? I could've train them," said Rina, her voice very insisting of Jonsey coming along at the same time.

"Rina, new recruits. Out of the two which I would send first is you, because you're experienced in winter, desert and tropical warfare. He's a sniper, see, and we need sharpshooters. We can't afford to lose numbers," explained Phillip. Rina pouted, hoping for sympathy from Phillip to send Jonsey with her. Arthuria faced her friend.

"Rina, trust me. He'll be all right. Like Phillip said, he would come a few days after. Isn't that right, Commander Phillip?" said Arthuria, giving Commander Phillip a death glare, making sure he wasn't planning to send Jonsey together with the new recruits on securing the farming community. Commander Phillip's face was straight, showing that he was sincere in his words before turning around and started leaving the bunk.

"The plane leaves at 1:30 pm. Don't be late," said Commander Phillip before leaving the bunk.

* * *


	28. Act III: Blackout

Rina, Arthuria and her team of Resistance fighters arrived at Winnipeg International Airport. The fields of Winnipeg were brown; the Nationalists contaminated the ground with high concentrations of acid before pulling back into their territory. The airport was filled with activity; the resistance M1 Abrams tanks were rolling on the tarmac to the road outside the airport, soldiers loading up and charging their Javelin launchers, preparing for another assault. American Navy SEALs that have defected from Nationalist America were training new recruits on advanced tactics on the airport grounds. And for the first time, a black American general in a battlefield outfit, stepped forth and saluted Rina as she descended from the plane.

"Greetings. I'm General Toby Anderson, general of the Resistance. I've heard of your many exploits on the battlefields in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Australia. Now we need your help on taking our once free nation back," said General Toby, putting out a hand for a handshake. Rina shook hands with the general, signalled the her Resistance team to head to the barracks and they walked together, discussing about his next battle plan.

"I should inform you that quite a huge percentage of our country disliked the new President when he began annexing the United Nations. By then, it was too late. He took control of our governmet and put his loyalists in positions of the government. Using his power of fear on the people, he managed to keep the populations under his control, until now. Ever since your armies began taking over Europe and Australia, it gave the people new hope in restoring our once glorious and wealthy nation. We have many defectors who had joined our cause, and are in positions in the military to cause an uprising once we've entered the nothern states," explained Toby in his long speech. Rina listened diligently.

"So where can we begin?" asked Arthuria, with her expressions showing her content with the much warmer weather.

"Well, for a start, one of our informants have been captured since our capture of Winnipeg. The orders of his execution have yet to be passed down from the government. There should be enough time for us to get him outta there. We take care of our friends," said the general in his long speech.

"So where can we find him?" asked Arthuria.

"At Ste Agathe town. Our snipers are in position. The choppers are just behind the terminal," replied Toby, pointing towards the terminal.

"Ok, we'll be going," said Arthuria as she dragged Rina along, having not said a word since her meeting with the general. Afetr dragging her for some time, Rina shook her hand loose from Arthuria's grip.

"Who put you in charge there, Arthuria?" asked Rina, looking a bit angry.

"You weren't even listening, Rina. All you were thinking is Jonsey. He'll be fine, I promise," replied Arthuria.

"But how do you know that I want to go?" shot back Rina, her voice flaring up.

"If you weren't here for Jonsey, you would be at home in Munich," replied Arthuria. Rina stayed silent.

"So, are you coming or what?" asked Arthuria, waiting for her friend to make a move. Rina just smiled and followed Arthuria to the helicopters.

* * *

Rina and Arthuria were lying down on the ground, staying low so that Nationalist patrols at the community wouldn't spot them. Two soldiers in ghillie suits crawled to where Rina and Arthuria were lying down. Because they were in camouflage, it wasn't easy for Rina and Arthuria to spot them, thus gave them a fright when they approached behind them.

"Our operative is inside the house on the northeast corner of the village. We'll give you sniper cover when necessary. We also have another team of ghilies from the south. They'll clear the houses there. Just give the order," whispered the sniper. Rina and Arthuria nodded. They both got up to crouching position and walked towards the main road. They ducked when a Nationalist Humvee went past them. When it left, they quickly ran across the road and hid in a vacated house just adjacent to the target building. There was a road block with Nationalist troops guarding it. Rina observed the house and there were more troops guarding each entry in the building.

"All units, commence attack," said Rina through the radio. Gunfire was heard, with shadowy figures appearing from the farm fields, running towards the houses. The ghillies, in groups of three, blasted through each door of every house, clearing out its occupants of Nationalist troops. The Nationalist soldiers guarding the target building was shot down, giving Rina and Arthuria the chance to approach the building. They took out the Nationalist guards at the road block before approaching the house.

"Arthuria, cut the power," said Rina on the radio. Just when Rina was about to reach the door, a ghillie appeared behind her and tapped her shoulder. Rina quickly took defensive stance, pointing a pistol at his head, assuming the ghillie was the enemy.

"Cool it. I'm one of yours," said the ghillie. They both stacked up beside a door and waited for Arthuria to cut the power. Rina and the ghillie pulled down their nightvision goggles and prepared to breach.

"Ok, I've cut the power. Go," reported Arthuria on the radio. Rina quietly opened the door with her rifle on one hand, keeping it in line of sight. The ghillie followed soon after. She went through a room and saw a Nationalist, calling out to his friends, asking what happened to the electricity. Rina knifed him.

"These nightvision goggles make it too easy," commented the ghillie. Then they entered another room, where another Nationalist soldier was trying to feel his way around, with a pistol in hand, whispering his comrade's name. Rina stabbed him. Footsteps were heard coming down the stairs. The ghillie quickly sniped him off. They quickly climbed up the stairs and saw a Nationalist soldier, crouching in a corner, scared, pointing his pistol everywhere. Rina gave him no chances, and gutted him. Another Nationalist, acting a bit smarter than the rest, turned a table to its side and randomly fired everywhere. The ghillie rushed towards him, jumped across the table and stabbed him. After they were done, Arthuria entered through the first floor entrance, joining Rina and the ghillie. There was a room where the ghillie seemed to identify the informant. The ghillie crouched, asking Rina and Arthuria to aim at the doorway while he slowly goes through it. A Nationalist came out with a torchlight in hand and a pistol in the other, shined towards Rina and Arthuria, blinding them as nightvision goggles don't work in light. The ghillie rushed and headbutted the Nationalist, ramming him to the wall, then stabbed him through the neck. Rina and Arthuria entered the room when the informant yelled out.

"I didn't betray you! I'm not the informant!" yelled the informant, covering his face. He was shirtless, revealing his massive muscles. He had unkempt hair with several cuts and bruises all over his body. The ghillie picked up the torchlight and shined it at his face, then picked him up.

"It's the informant. Rambo, are you allright? Can you walk?" asked the ghillie.

"Yes, I can still fight. Thanks for rescuing me," replied Rambo. The ghillie picked up the M4A1 lying on the floor and handed to Rambo. Rina then led them to the extraction zone.

"Foxtrot 7, we've found him. Pick us up at LZ One, over," said Rina on the radio.

"Copy that," came the reply. A Resistance Sea Knight swooped in, landing at a field not far from the house. Rina, Arthuria, Rambo and the ghillie were joined together with other ghillies as they entered the Sea Knight. Once the team is on board, the Sea Knight took off, leaving the town in smoke.

* * *


	29. Act III: Quiet on the Eastern Front

_(One week prior to D-Day)_

A Benz parked outside the team mansion. The surroundings were surreal; ever since the war in Europe was over for a month, everything seemed to go back to normal; except for the occasional construction works in Munich. Doug got out of his car and went to the passenger seat of the car to open the door for his beloved wife to come out. Maddie walked towards the mansion's front doors. Doug followed soon after with bags from the trunk. Maddie had been in the Cordoba Hospital for a month since the energy blast nearly disintegrated her and Vespin. Vespin got out unharmed, but Maddie had her robotic arm ripped off and had to be rested in the hospital for a month, even though it wasn't serious.

"Here, let me open it," said Doug, taking out his keys. He opened the door and Maddie got in first. The house was dark at first until the light went up and the whole team cheered out.

"SURPRISE!!!" Maddie was shocked and happy that all her team members are here and celebrating her return.

"Welcome back, Mrs. Kreig," said Cheryl, taking out a white, frosty cake from the fridge. It had writings in red icing, "Welcome back, Maddie!"

"All this for me? Thank you!" she exclaimed, hugging Cheryl. Cheryl hugged her back, happy that her friend had returned. Maddie then hugged the rest of her girl friends and handshakes to the boys.

"Hey, guess what? Me and Yee Lin are getting married!" announced James, attempting to grope Yee Lin from behind.

"Yeah right," replied Yee Lin with a strong nudge to the tummy as a warning for groping her. James let out a heavy huff. The rest of the team laughed. Then Cheryl looked at her watch.

"Oh my, it's late! I should be making dinner now!" exclaimed Cheryl as she rushed into the kitchen. Vespin followed suit.

"Me too. It's time I learn to cook for my hubby," said Maddie. As she was about to walk to the kitchen, Doug grabbed her arm and pulled her close to him.

"No darling. You've just returned from the hospital. Besides, we should have some 'quality' time alone," said Doug to her ear before sweeping her off her feet and carried her. Maddie let out a shriek, then a giggle. Doug carried her up the stairs to their room.

* * *

The dinner was deliciously prepared by Cheryl, with blessing from Doug. The team enjoyed the meal very well, with discussions of what to do since TSWAT had been disbanded. James and Yee Lin wanted to go to the Alps; although Yee Lin denied getting married there. Cheryl wanted to go back to her country, South Korea, as a doctor and also to witness the reunification with the North; also stating she would be leaving tonight. Ivan wanted to return home to St Petersburg, but he also wanted to see the war through to its end in America. Terry, being American, wanted to continue on and join the advanced force into the North American mainland. Maddie would want to stay here with Doug and they both planned to spend most of their lives in the same mansion.

After the dinner, the team said their farewells to Cheryl as she took her bags to the taxi outside, waiting to drive her to the airport. Maddie gave her one last hug before she left. Then they returned back into the mansion, Ivan deciding to go with Terry to see the war end on American soil, so they head to the entertainment room with a few bottles of vodka. Yee Lin told James to get their bags packed for the Alps, and Vespin went down to the small library for a read.

"The team is splitting up, Maddie," commented Doug, resting his arm on her shoulder.

"Come here," said Maddie, wrapping her arms around his neck to reach of a kiss on his lips.

"You are still so energetic, Maddie. C'mon, let's go up to the room," said Doug, sweeping her off her feet and carried her up the stairs. Maddie giggled and kissed him on the cheek. She felt this was how married couples must have done to keep a long relationship.

* * *

"Yea, okay. At 0900 hours. Thanks, bye," said Doug as Maddie woke up from her slumber. She found him on the telephone, sitting on his desk with the desk lamp on, putting the receiver down. She looked at the clock. It was 3 am.

"What's going on?" asked Maddie, raising her head up, observing the body build of her hubby in the dim light.

"I'm going to the American mainland," replied Doug.

"But TSWAT has been disbanded. We don't have to fight anymore," said Maddie, indicating to him to come to bed.

"I signed up as a Waffen-GSG operative," said Doug. Maddie was surprised and angry.

"Why do you have to go?! We have just spent our first night together! Why are you so obsessed of going to war!" exclaimed Maddie, nearly screaming.

"Maddie, that's not the reason…….," said Doug, trying to explain.

"THEN WHY!!!" screamed Maddie, tears brimming on her eyes.

"I have a sister to bring home," said Doug, raising his voice a little. Maddie was dumbfounded and she lowered her head. He rose up from his chair, walked to the bed and sat next to her. He took both his hands to raise her head to face him. Tears rolled down her cheeks. Her lips quivered. Doug wiped the tears off her face.

"Maddie, I am your husband. I have vowed to be with you for as long as I shall live. But I have a sister that went to America. As her older twin, I have the responsibility to bring her back safe and sound. Then we can be a family again," explained Doug. Maddie sobbed. Then she hugged him.

"I'm sorry I forgot her," said Maddie between her sobs. Doug stroked her hair.

"It's all right, honey. No one's perfect," replied Doug. The she faced him and gave him a passionate kiss that lasted a minute. After that she asked a question.

"How long will you be gone?"

"For a fortnight the most," replied Doug as he wanted to put down his hands. Maddie quickly took his hand and put it next to her cheek.

"It's at 9am right? Spend more time with me," pleaded Maddie.

"Yes, my love," said Doug as he got under the covers. They both giggled.

* * *


	30. Act III: DDay Landings

_(On D-Day, 8:15 a.m.)_

The skies were grim and cloudy. The wind and seas began to be a bit choppy. The Eurasian Navy was standing by miles away from the shores of the Nationalist-controlled Halifax city. Battleships, aircraft carriers, submarines, destroyers, cruisers, hovercrafts; everything the Eurasians could offer on the American East Coast. The jets on the aircraft carriers took off immediately as radars detected Nationalist jets taking off from Halifax airport. The hovercrafts circled around near the navy, waiting for the order to pass down from high command. Several Nationalist jets fell out from the skies, knocked down by the Eurasian Eurofighter jets. But the Nationalist Patriot missiles kept the Eurofighters away for a distance; with two of the Eurofighters shot down by the batteries that came too close. Then a message from high command reached the navy. The landing was to be commenced.

The first wave of hovercrafts broke out from their circling formation and headed towards the shores with speed. The battleships fired their shells on the coast, softening the beach defenses. The Nationalists responded with its own bombardment from their Paladin artillery tanks, with hits near the approaching hovercrafts. One artillery shell hit a hovercraft; two tanks and 20 soldiers died on board. The hovercrafts continued on. The battleships fired more rounds at the Paladin group that fired the rounds. The group disengaged, buying more time for the hovercrafts to land. The laser turrets that were used for taking out missile projectiles were used to take on the hovercrafts. Two hovercrafts were sunk by the laser turrets. The cruisers launched a volley of rockets and missiles on the turrets, but were mere misses. Only 15 out of the 20 hovercrafts reached the shore. The hovercrafts unloaded their troops and head out back into the ocean.

The landed Leopard tanks quickly fired shells at the laser turrets, destroying them, but couldn't move further because of the antitank obstacles. Some troops ran up and reached the barbed-wire shingle under a spray of machine gun fire from pillboxes perched atop cliffs; some were gunned down, but most of them made it. Snipers made the advance harder for the soldiers. The Leopard tanks that were stuck on the shore were battered by the relocated Paladin artillery tanks. Nationalist missile infantry launched rockets at the shingle, blasting some Eurasian troops to the fright of their lives. Some scattered; the machine guns took care of them. The ones carrying packs of C4 managed to plant some at parts of the shingle to make a pathway to the concrete pillboxes. They blasted the C4, making pathways for the soldiers to get through. But they never thought they'd encounter mines just after passing through the shingle. The first soldiers were completely blown to bits; those that survived were gunned down by snipers and machine guns. Now that they were stuck at the shingle with the sea at their backs and a mine field and pillboxes in front of them, it was a matter of time before the Paladins reset their position and bombarded the area and the first attack wave was annihilated.

But the first attack wave did its job. It destroyed the laser defender turrets, which paved way for the missile cruisers to strike. The cruisers launched a new volley of rockets on the beach, destroying several pillboxes and managed to erase the Paladin division out of existence. They also carved a way to the land by detonating the mine fields and clearing the beachhead. The second wave went in more successfully, taking out the Patriot missile batteries and advancing further inland.

Transport planes appeared from behind the clouds and headed inland, since the primary air defense systems were disabled. The Eurofighters led air squadrons, knocking down any Nationalist jets that may cause trouble to the paratroopers in the transport planes. Nationalist anti-air Stryker IFVs raced towards their positions, shooting down some of the transport planes and Eurofighter jets. The Leopards and Challenger tanks raced inland and took out the Strykers; but a group of anti-tank Strykers came from the flank, spewing out smokescreens and attacking the tanks. Some transport planes carrying Russian troops dropped them in the heart of the battlefield; with RPG-7s in hand; they swiftly took out the Stryker IFVs. Other transport planes carrying troops from Germany and Britain headed towards the Halifax airport and dropped their troops there. There was heavy anti-aircraft fire from the stationed Nationalist Bradley IFVs. Some aircraft were hit and were crashing down not far from the airport. Most of the paratroopers made it to the ground safely, arming their Panzerfaust 3 RPGs and M72 LAW to destroy the Bradleys. Among the paratrooper team was Yulie Pendragon, who came to America to get her younger sister, Arthuria, home. She quickly dodged some bullets coming from the terminal and hid behind a ditch with several other paratroopers. German troops in the ditch threw smoke grenades to blur the Nationalists' vision. When the smoke filled the airfield, they quickly ran out from the ditch with their Panzerfaust 3 RPGs and took out the machine gun emplacements in the terminal building. A Stryker group tried to flank the paratrooper squads but were taken out by a hovering AC-130 gunship.

"Bloody hell, I better not die here just to get her," commented Yulie to a British paratrooper.

"Who?" asked the soldier, holding up an M72 LAW.

"My sister," replied Yulie before jumping out of the ditch and rushed towards the terminal, firing a few rounds at the terminal building. A few of her fellow British soldiers followed her.

On the opposite side of the channel, on Halifax harbor, Douglas Kreig, Terry McCormick and Ivan Gredenko with their team of Spetsnaz 19 and Waffen-GSG troopers were fighting from container to container, gunning down the Nationalist regulars with ease. Then several bulkier soldiers burst off from the waterfront and landed on the harbor pavement, cracking the concrete pavement with their heavy equipment.

"Navy Stormtroopers!" exclaimed one of the Spetsnaz troopers. The Navy Stormtroopers, with their heavy miniguns, sprayed bullets on the team, killing off two unfortunate Waffen-GSG troopers. The rest managed to find cover while they readied themselves for target practice.

"Ready!?" announced Doug as he got his eyes primed on their Stormtroopers' weak points; the neck. They waited until the Stormtroopers stopped firing to prevent the guns from overheating. That was a good enough sign for the team to attack.

"Go!" announced Doug as he popped out from behind the container and plucked the Stormtroopers through their necks. The other troopers followed suit, missing the first shot but getting it right on the second. The Stormtroopers were stunned by the accuracy and therefore ran back to the waters.

"Yeah! Go back to where you came from!" cheered Terry as the Stormtroopers pussy out (as how Ivan would put it) and jumped back into the waters. The Spetsnaz then stood at the water's edge and fired more rounds at them before regrouping with the team.

"They won't be gone for long. Better get moving," said Doug before they moved into the residential areas of Halifax, clearing the city for the amphibious assault groups to land in the city.

* * *

Yulie and her team of the 21st British paratrooper battalion had managed to secure the airport. Russian Hinds carrying vehicles unloaded them on the tarmac, and the soldiers quickly moved to secure the jeeps and tanks. More transport planes landed on the tarmac; Russian Antonov An-225s were used to carry the T-90 main battle tanks while the hovercrafts skimmed over the ground to the airport to unload the heavier German Leopard 2s and British Challenger tanks. SAS Group F soldiers came out from one of the transports and walked towards Yulie. They stopped before her and saluted to her. Yulie saluted back and asked.

"What's all this?" asked Yulie. The commander of the British 21st paratrooper battalion came from behind and spoke.

"You have been reassigned to lead the SAS group to capture a vital city," said the commander. Yulie immediately held the commander by the collar.

"Hey, I came here to get my sister, not to lead another group into another battlezone!" yelled Yulie on the commander's face. The commander was definitely scared at her tone; having served in many important battlefields puts her in a higher level than he was.

"That's the reason why we have to capture it! It's Toronto, the crossroad to where the Freedom Forces from the West will be meeting with us!" stuttered the commander. Yulie put him down and then looked at the SAS group.

"Alright, we'll be acting quickly from now on. No questions asked. Just do what you're told. Is that clear?" said Yulie.

"Yes, ma'am," replied the soldiers.

"Get ready at 1300 hours. The plane leaves by then," said the commander, adding to what Yulie had just said.

* * *


	31. Act III: Preparation

_(In Winnipeg…)_

General Toby Anderson called in the commanders present in Winnipeg, planning for the next move while the Eurasian forces were reinforcing Halifax. Rina and Jonsey were present in the meeting; Rina resting her head over his arm.

"The Eurasian forces have landed in Halifax and are ready to join up with us when we make the call. I need David and Leonard to lead the 21st battalion southward. Xavier and myself will take the 15th regiment and the 4th battalion and meet up with them in Toronto," said Toby, looking at his commanders, making sure they understood the order. Then he looked at Jonsey and Rina.

"For both of you, I want you to be the advanced team to enter Chicago with our Delta teams, try to make it easier for the invasion force to land once Toronto is in our hands. Are you up to it?" asked Toby.

"Whatever you say, mate," replied Jonsey enthusiastically. Rina just nodded. Toby nodded at their gesture and made an announcement.

"Ok, we'll be leaving within the hour. Dismissed," said Toby, walking towards the radio to make contact with the Eurasian forces. The rest of the commanders left.

* * *

Rina was preparing in her room, wearing her boots when Jonsey knocked on the door.

"Come in," said Rina. She was surprised when Jonsey came to see her.

"Hello luv. You ready?" asked Jonsey, sitting right next to her on her bed.

"I am, of course. Why?" replied Rina. Jonsey was staring in her eyes.

"Because your beautiful eyes tell me so," said Jonsey, leaning in for a kiss. Rina embraced it and tasted every bit she enjoyed. The kiss began to arouse both of them as they lay down on the bed, enjoying each moment each partner had to offer.

Arthuria was about to knock on the door when she heard the bed springs creak repeatedly. She blushed at the thought that Rina and Jonsey were in there and walked past the room face-red.

* * *

_(Back in Halifax….)_

Douglas was sitting by the wharf as the Eurasian troops were securing Halifax city when Terry and Ivan came and stood behind him.

"They want to move to Victoria Harbour. Said there was a ship waiting for us to take us to Rina," said Terry. Doug turned around and faced Terry.

"Isn't the entire Resistance forces heading towards Toronto?" asked Doug.

"She volunteered to go in as an advanced team into Chicago. The ship is one of the vessels going to assist in the assault," replied Terry. Ivan looked on to the harbor, when a breeze came in and hit their faces.

"The winter's not calming down very soon," commented Doug before called on by a commanding officer, telling them that they'd be leaving now.

* * *

Yulie Pendragon and her SAS Group F team rushed through the city centre of Toronto, busting through every building they see, clearing them out. The Eurasian forces were also there, with tanks running on the streets and helicopters flying in the skies. The Resistance also offered a helping hand, with their jets making bombing runs and keeping the Nationalist jets grounded. Yulie and her SAS group got back from the streets after clearing a hospital and met up with a Leopard tank. The German tank commander came out and spoke.

"The Resistance will be coming in from the north. So if you see an Abrams, make sure it wasn't the Nationalists….." Before he could say another word, a loud explosion happened, attracting their attention to the sky; a Nationalist Black Hawk spinning out of control and heading towards them.

"Oh shit! Drive! Drive!" yelled the tank commander as he hid back into the tank; the tank began moving. Yulie and her SAS team quickly retreated back into the hospital as the out-of-control helicopter launched a few missiles that hit nearby buildings and crashed on the road they were on. The helicopter dragged on and hit the Leopard, knocking it at the back. The helicopter disabled the tank, destroying the engine the tank relied on. The tank commander came out to assess the damage.

"Aw man. Now we're a sitting duck," cursed the commander as he looked at the distance. He saw some Nationalist troops firing at them. One of them had a Javelin.

"Oh crap! Get out, everyone! Javs spotted!" yelled the commander, jumping out with a G36 rifle at hand. The others came out just as fast. The Javelin trooper launched a missile and the missile flew up. The missile hit just after the driver escaped, sending shrapnel everywhere and destroying the tank. Now stuck in the hospital, Yulie, the SAS group and the tank crew have to hold off the incoming Nationalist troops. The Javelin trooper, so much for their annoyance, kept firing at the hospital as though the Geneva Convention never existed. Then a Resistance Apache quickly came to their rescue, gunning down all the Nationalst soldiers surrounding the hospital. A Javelin trooper that was gunned down survived and fired a missile before bleeding to death. The missile hit the Apache's tail rotor, and the helicopter came crashing down. Yulie and her team rushed out to search for the pilots. Only one of them survived. The more gunfire came as a new batch of Nationalist troops rushed towards them. Yulie carried the five foot nine pilot (Yulie is exactly _five feet_ tall) on her back and carried him all the way back into the hospital. The SAS gave her covering fire, before an airstrike came in and wiped them out. A group of Resistance Humvees rushed in and parked outside the hospital. Soldiers came out to secure the perimeter. Yulie came out and met with them.

"Yulie Pendragon of SAS Group F?" asked a soldier.

"Yea, why?" asked Yulie.

"Sorry we got you into this trouble but your sister took a detour to Chicago. We'll be taking you to the base outside Toronto and bring you there by a Sea Knight," said the soldier. The she looked at the others.

"What about them?" asked Yulie, pointing at them. One of the SAS troopers was carrying the wounded pilot. The soldier looked on.

"They'll be coming with us. Everyone, to the Humvees!" commanded the soldier, who was apparently a Lieutenant, waved at his teammates to get into the Humvees with the groups and then drove off from the hospital.

"Why did you have to take a detour? Jeez..," thought Yulie as the Humvees drove through neighborhoods and people's lawns.

* * *


	32. Act III: Chicago Takedown

"30 seconds," announced the pilot as the aircraft flew under the cover of the dark sky. Several Resistance F-117 Nighthawks flew past the plane and hit two Patriot missile batteries in the Ukrainian Village. A Nationalist Raptor flew by and found one of the bombers, thus hitting it with its missiles. A Resistance F/A-18 Hornet zoomed past and fired its machine guns at the Raptor before fleeing off the area.

"Green light, you're good to go," announced the pilot. The cockpit glowed in green, and the teams jumped off the aircraft to reach their landing zone.

After landing at their zone in Humboldt Park, Rina and her Resistance team regrouped under the tree line. The Australian team regrouped with them minutes later.

"What took you so long, Jonsey?" asked Rina, kneeling down to avoid detection by Nationalist patrols.

"Sorry luv. Wannah got stuck in a tree. We had to pull him down," replied the blonde. The Aborigine just laughed.

"Ok, so what do we do now?" asked Rina. Jonsey thought for a while before coming to a conclusion.

"Our objective is to capture the train depot at the West Grand Avenue, but because Delta squad isn't here yet, we should head for the hospital, right about…..." said Jonsey before an explosion occurred near the river.

"Now," said Jonsey before the rest followed him to the Norwegian American Hospital. They ran across the road to the hospital and hid behind some buildings before a searchlight waved through their location.

"Watchtower to the southwest," said Arthuria.

"Hold on, I'll take care of it," said one of the Resistance fighters as he aimed directly at the watchtower guard. He took a shot, and the guard fell down. This alerted some of the Nationalist patrols nearby.

"Go! Go!" exclaimed Jonsey as they all rushed into the hospital, firing at Nationalist guards standing by and entering the hospital. A Nationalist Abrams tank broke off from a nearby patrol and entered the hospital area and stood guard.

"Dammit!" cursed Jonsey as he looked around the hospital. The hospital was empty. Not a single medical equipment of patient in sight. It was a trap.

"Resistance soldiers, you have been surrounded in all directions. Surrender now and your life will be spared," announced a Nationalist commander of the patrol. There were several Abrams and APCs surrounding the hospital, counting up to a hundred.

"In your dreams, motherfucker!" exclaimed one of the Resistance soldier. Arthuria took a peep through the hospital windows.

"They have us completely surrounded with at least a hundred soldiers," said Arthuria. Rina smirked.

"Heh, they have been outnumbered," replied Rina.

"What do you mean outnumbered? There's a hundred of them and fifteen of us. We are outnumbered," said Arthuria.

"No," replied Rina before explosions occurred outside the hospital. Arthuria looked out through the window and saw Nationalist troops running for cover, the tanks and APCs are running away; a Javelin missile hit an Abrams tank as masked soldiers from behind the Nationalist came out from the trees.

"Delta, I should've known," commented Arthuria. The Delta team of the Resistance Forces gunned down the Nationalist soldiers and secured the hospital, Rina came out with her rifle on hand, raising it so that Delta squad identifies them as friend.

"Got yourselves stuck in a trap? No worries, at least we secured the hospital. Could be useful in treating our wounded," said the Delta commander. Arthuria whispered in Rina's ear.

"How did you know they would come in time?" whispered Arthuria.

"The commander of this Delta team is a friend of Melvin," replied Rina as the commander removed his mask. Arthuria was surprised.

"Justin the Legendary Sniper? Wow," exclaimed Arthuria.

"It seems my reputation forgoes my ability," commented Justin. Jonsey and his team came out next.

"So what's next, Justin?" inquired Rina.

"We'll head forth to secure the train depot, and then we'll split up. My team will use the trains to capture the Chicago Union Station in the city," replied Justin. She nodded and they all head to the train depot.

* * *

The train depot was busy as Nationalist Humvees and soldiers were running about. Some were mounting equipment into the trains heading south, soldiers hopping into trains moving west. The soldiers were on high alert as the initial attacks by the Resistance and the Canadian Defense Force on Michigan and Minneapolis forced them to spread thin on the northern frontier with their dwindling numbers and growing support for the Resistance. The teams hid in the houses near the depot.

"Got a plan?" asked Rina.

"Yeah, just let my teams get into position. When I give the signal, you will run in and erase the Nationalists in the depot. Just watch out for the tanks in the warehouses. Don't let them get you," replied Justin. Rina nodded and waited as Justin left the house they were hiding. It was a full fifteen minutes before the first shots were fired on the watchtowers and Rina rushed in. The teams followed. An explosion blew through the roofs of the warehouses. Out came Nationalist soldiers on fire. The teams continued on and entered the depot. Rina fired a few shots at two Nationalists appearing at the entrance. A Delta operative with a flamethrower sent a wave of flames into room after room in the depot. Nationalists hiding in the rooms were trying to get out and were on fire. Those that do get out were left to burn or get doused in more fire. They cleared the depot rather quickly as most of the soldiers were already sent to the western or southern frontier.

"That was fast, but I swear I could've done better," commented Justin as he looked at his watch and regrouped with Rina and Jonsey. The operation lasted ten minutes. They finally secured the depot and Delta operatives found some train locomotives to use to enter the city. Justin instructed some of his soldiers to guard the depot while others were getting onto the locomotives. Rina walked up to him.

"So Justin, anything we could do while you enter the city?" asked Rina.

"Well, since the real assault doesn't start in a few hours, you could help us secure the United Centre Sports Arena as a possible landing and extraction zone," replied Justin. He then directed a few of his operatives to man the locomotives.

"Sure. Good luck," said Rina.

"You too," replied Justin as he hopped on one of the moving locomotives heading towards the city. Rina could just look on. Jonsey stepped next to her.

"Where on to, luv?" asked Jonsey, resting his hand on her shoulder.

"The stadium, Jonsey. But my gut feeling tells me I won't see them again," replied Rina, looking at the locomotive that disappeared into the Chicago horizon.

* * *


	33. Act III: Endgame

Doug was waiting outside the field commander's office aboard the HMCS Winnipeg in Lake Michigan. With him were Terry and Ivan. The commander came out from the office.

"I've been trying to contact your sister and her team but it seems that they have maintained radio silence. The last team that was in contact with her and her team was Delta, which has recently been out of radio contact since they've entered the city," said the commander.

"Do you know where she is heading?" asked Doug.

"I don't know, Commander Kreig. I'll try to contact Delta team again," replied the commander.

* * *

Rina, Jonsey and the rest of the team waited at a house just at the outskirts of the stadium. There were several Chinooks carrying the Nationalist Abrams tanks out of the parking lot. Soldiers were guarding the perimeter of the stadium.

"It looks like they're retreating. But why?" stated Arthuria.

"We're about to find out, Artie," replied Jonsey, pulling the bolt on his rifle. Arthuria frowned. Jonsey gave a hand signal to direct the Resistance fighters to sniping positions. After waiting for everybody to be at position, he noticed soldier numbers near the stadium had dwindled.

"This makes my job much easier," thought Jonsey.

"Go loud," announced Jonsey on the radio. The snipers took their shots, and the Nationalist soldiers on the parking lot ran for their lives. Jonsey was the first to rush out and fired at a Nationalist soldier nearby. Rina came second, aiming a grenade launcher at a group of Nationalist soldiers and fired at them. The grenade blew upon contact, sending some of them flying at all directions. The rest of the team followed; a Resistance fighter fired his grenade launcher at point blank range, hitting a Nationalist soldier in the head, knocking him out instantly. They entered the stadium, expecting heavy resistance, but it was empty. They looked out and saw Nationalist APCs approaching the stadium from the south.

"Not another trap," said Arthuria. Rina quickly took a look at the other side of the stadium. There were no Nationalist troops there.

"Not a trap. They want to take it back," announced Rina.

"Hold the line!" yelled Arthuria as the Resistance soldiers quickly rushed to the southern face of the stadium to hold against the Nationalists.

* * *

"Commander Kreig! I got Delta on the line!" announced the commander on the ship. Doug quickly rushed to the bridge with Terry and Ivan. They reached the panel and the commander handed Doug the intercom.

"Delta! Come in Delta!" said Doug on the intercom.

"This is Justin of Delta! We're taking heavy casualties!" replied the commander of Delta with gunshots in the background.

"Justin, do you know where Rina Kreig is?" asked Doug.

"Rina Kreig of the Resistance?" asked Justin when a bullet grazed his head. "Oh shit!"

"Yes, where did you send her?" asked Doug.

"To secure the Chicago Stadium extraction point," replied Justin before a loud bang echoed on the radio. "Bloody hell, I'm hit! Aaargh!" The radio went silent.

"Commander Kreig, there's a Sea Knight waiting to pick you up to the location at the stern," said the commander.

"Thanks, Commander Gregs," replied Doug as he rushed to the ship's deck.

* * *

"This is Commander Rina of the Resistance. We are under heavy resistance. Request evac," said Rina on the radio, standing up, trying to get clearer reception. Out of the white noise came a voice.

"Can I have your numbers?" asked the commander on the other side of the radio. Suddenly, Jonsey jumped and grabbed her before both of them fell a few fights down the steps.

"Jonsey, what are you…?" shot Rina before noticing a bullet wound on his back.

"Eergh! Being a bit careless there, luv?" There was a sniper on your back," croaked Jonsey.

"No, Jonsey! Don't die on me! Help is on the way!" exclaimed Rina before reaching her radio. "We have a wounded. Request immediate evacuation!"

"Okay, two Sea Knights are on the way," replied the commander. Rina dropped the radio and attended Jonsey. He was bleeding badly from the wounds.

"Help is on the way! Help is coming!" said Rina frantically, trying to put pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding.

"I feel cold, Rina. I don't think I can make it," stuttered Jonsey. Then a Resistance fighter came by them.

"What happened?" asked the fighter.

"He's been shot. Help me stop the wound," said Rina, putting pressure on the wound with her bloodied gloves. The fighter looked at his wound.

"That's one of the meanest weapons of the Nationalist's arsenal. Fragmentation bullet. No one can survive longer than a minute on that," remarked the fighter. Rina could hear Jonsey let out a huff.

"No, Jonsey. Don't die one me! I love you!" said Rina to Jonsey. He moaned a bit. Rina held his hand. He held it, but he started losing his grip. Rina was in tears.

"Just…..remember me…….luv…," stuttered Jonsey before his head fell dead on the ground, his grip completely gone. Rina buried her head on his back, sobbing.

"Hey, we need a helping hand here! They've got missiles!" announced Arthuria to Rina and the Resistance fighter at Jonsey's body. Rina quickly wiped her tears off and ran up the stairs with the help of the Resistance fighter.

"This is for Jonsey," said Rina in a grim voice before firing at several Nationalist soldiers in their heads. Arthuria was a bit surprised about her friend's change of mood to a merciless soldier; but nevertheless important in order to hold the stadium.

* * *

"I'm coming Rina, hang on," thought Doug as the helicopter swerved through the Chicago skyline. Terry was manning the Mark 19 grenade launcher of the United States Resistance Forces' CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter. Terry was engaging Nationalist Abrams tanks rolling out from underground car parks of Chicago; which helped as the British Challenger, Chinese Type 99 and Resistance Forces' Abrams tanks rolled into the city. Several Resistance Apaches came face to face with the Nationalist Comanche helicopters, but the Comanches were far more technologically superior to the Apaches, thus gaining the upper hand. Some F-16s zoomed past and hit the Comanches, but were shot down by some Nationalist Raptors. The distraction allowed some of the Resistance's A-10 Thunderbolts to strike a Nationalist Patriot Missile Defense battery, but one of them was shot down by a Stinger missile. Another Stinger missile was headed for the helicopter; but the helicopter ejected flares and fooled the missile. The missile exploded in mid air, causing the helicopter to sway in turbulence a bit before regaining flight path. The helicopter hovered around the field near the Sears Tower; a Nationalist jet was smoking in its wing and started spiraling into the Sears Tower, crashing into the top floors. Another Sea Knight helicopter came into view and began hovering at the same place.

"Big bird 5 and 7, unload half your chalk here and head towards the United Center Sports Arena. We've got an advanced team pinned down there," said the radio. The helicopter landed and troops left the helicopter and head towards the nearest buildings for cover. The helicopters flew a few miles northwest and landed in the parking lots north of the stadium. There was green smoke popping out from the stadium grounds.

"The LZ is too hot. We'll stay in the air until you evac the advanced team," announced the helicopter pilot. Doug, Ivan, and Terry exited the first helicopter while Yulie and other Resistance troops came out from the second. The helicopters took off and they quickly rushed into the stadium to avoid gunfire. While they were running, Doug saw Yulie with the other evacuation team.

"Yulie, what are you doing here?!" exclaimed Doug, looking at her. Yulie looked back and responded.

"I've come to take my sister back," replied Yulie. "You?"

"Me too," replied Doug. They crawled up the floors and found the advance team gunning down the Nationalist from the south. Rina, Arthuria, and several Australian Freedom and Resistance forces were alive from the massive assault made by the Nationalists on the stadium. There were husks of destroyed APCs littered all across the car park. Ivan got into sniping position and plucked out several Nationalist troops coming near the stadium in an APC. Doug grabbed hold of Rina.

"Rina, we have to go, now!!" shouted Doug over the sound of missiles exploding on the stadium's concrete columns. Rina turned to see her twin brother coming in with his extraction team. She smiled and nodded.

"Our exit is here. Come on, let's go!" she yelled to the other soldiers holding the line. They quickly got out of position and ran towards the northern exit. Ivan fired a few more shots before leaving his position and running with the team. Before Rina left the stadium, she took a quick glance at Jonsey's body. The man she fell for died saving her from a sniper. She quivered before her brother pulled her to the landing zone.

At the landing zone, the helicopter quickly took in their load; Douglas, Rina and most of the advanced team entered the first helicopter while Yulie, Arthuria, Ivan, Terry and the rest entered the second. The helicopters took off and headed east.

"All units are to evacuate the area immediately. We have found a nuclear device in the Sears Tower. I repeat, there's…..." said the radio before it went offline as a nuclear blast had occurred. The helicopters quickly gained altitude to escape the turbulence of the shockwave. The helicopters were safe from the shockwave as long as they maintained their altitude, but one Stinger missile from a nearby building flew by and hit the helicopter Doug and Rina were in.

"No!" exclaimed Arthuria as that helicopter spun out of control and hit the ground. She wanted to jump but Yulie held her back. Arthuria started to cry and Yulie buried her head in her chest like any older sibling would do.

"There's nothing we could do, Arthuria," said Yulie softly as the debris from the explosion covered the crash site. The helicopter they were on just made it out from the radiation zone and headed north to the command post.

* * *


	34. Epilogue

The nuclear explosion evaporated the city of Chicago. The helicopter wreckage was found just miles into the maximum radiation fallout zone of the explosion. Out of the wreckage came Douglas, breathing heavily as he punched a part of the helicopter out of the way and crawled out of the wreckage. Blood trickled from his forehead; the bare socket exposed from where his robotic right arm used to be. The helicopter crashed head first, its back facing upwards. Doug fell down with a thud, and he coughed out some blood. He looked around and there were wreckages of vehicles and tanks, some flipped on its top.

"This is what hell must've looked like," thought Doug. He looked around and saw his sister, lying down next to turned bus with her back propped up by the bus. He quickly crawled to her with the only hand he got and checked whether she was alive. There was shallow breathing coming from her.

"Rina! Rina!" called Doug, weakly. Rina slowly opened her eyes and looked at her brother on the ground beside her.

"Brother, I feel dizzy…….," replied Rina. Doug felt dizzy too. He knew it was the cause of radiation poisoning. He knew that he and his sister wouldn't survive long enough for the NEST teams to arrive and recover them. So they could only stay there and wait for Death to arrive. He held on to her hand and she gripped his.

"Rina, remember our song?" asked Doug, looking at her. Rina could weakly blink and nod once. She coughed out some blood and cleared her throat. She wiped the blood from her chin.

"_When my time comes….._." started Doug. Rina opened her mouth to continue.

"_Forget the wrong that I've done…._," continued Rina. Then they both sang the song together.

_Help me leave behind some,_

_Reasons to be missed._

Don't resent me,  
And when you're feeling empty,  
Keep me in your memory.  
Leave out all the rest.  
Leave out all the rest...

Douglas remembered the time they got conscripted into the German Army, and then pulled apart by TSWAT to serve the Western and Eastern Fronts. It has been five long years before they could meet again here face to face. And circumstances made this their last. Doug tried to make the most of it by keeping alive for as long as possible. He gripped his twin's hand harder, but he began to lose consciousness.

"I see a white light brother….," said Rina weakly, her eyes slowly shutting.

"Sleep well, Rina," replied Doug as she loosened her grip of her hand. Doug shed a tear for he lost his beloved younger sister. The tear was black. He turned and looked up to the sky. The sky was raining dirt. He smiled as he remembered the short time he spent with his newly-wedded wife, from when they were proclaimed husband and wife to the only night they were together in bed before his departure.

"Sorry I can't keep my promise………Madeline….," mumbled Doug before closing his eyes.

* * *

The German sky was very grey. A tree with its bare branches stuck out like the only living thing in the area. The news of the Chicago nuke reached the Europe hours after it went off. Maddie, watching the news in the mansion where the team used to live, got worried. James and Yee Lin had left for the Alps, leaving Maddie and Vespin behind in the mansion. Then the sound of a car parking outside the house and people exiting the vehicle were heard. She walked out and saw a man in military uniform walking towards the door. A few of his black-clad bodyguards stood by the vehicle. Vespin came and stood behind her.

"Is there something wrong?" Vespin inquired. The man just took the cap off from his head as if he was mourning. Maddie collapsed at the gesture. Vespin could do nothing but began sobbing and catching Maddie from her fall. She fell to her knees and hugged Maddie tightly to comfort her as she wailed. The man too knelt by them and consoled them for what has happened.

* * *

Weeks later, Nationalist America has fallen after the invasion of the nothern states. The military retaliated against the fascist government, moving in to capture the president himself. With his loyalist soldiers dead and the military closing in on him, he took a cyanide pill and killed himself. His other loyalists were captured, then tried in a democratic way. They were tried for their war crimes against all codes of conduct; so many that the new American government decided to execute them than giving them lifetime imprisonment. Surprisingly, when the time came for electing a new senator for America, General Toby Anderson took office and began reconstructing America to the way it was, before the war. In the next election eight years later, Terry McCormick won the elections and took office, crediting his experiences of his life to Commander Douglas Kreig.

* * *

_(10 years later)_

Peace has resettled in the world. The world has been united under one federation; 'The United Earth'. The world began its massive reconstruction effort since the end of the war and slowly returning to its pre-war state. The cities that have been nuked have been reconstructed with a different map compared to its pre-war state, and with the word 'New' added to its original name. The location where the United Nations used to stand before the Nationalists annexed it had been used as a memorial for the billions that died in the war.

At New Berlin, at the epicenter of the blast, what constructed was a huge public space called 'The six heroes of the German Republic'. The big public area had a stone carving of the Iron Cross with German inscriptions about the many people that have been lost in this terrible war. And surrounding the monument in a circumference was six statues of the heroes of the German republic; two of which was Douglas and Rina Kreig. Both the statues showed both of them holding their national flag and looking sadly upwards towards the German sky; some people said it was the expression of them bearing the pain of the German people. On its opening day, the Senator of America and teammate of Douglas Kreig till the end of the war, Terry McCormick, with other world leaders initiated the opening of the public space. After an hour long honorary speech by the German Senator and Terry, Terry went to the statue of Douglas Kreig and left a bouquet of flowers on the pedestal. He touched the pedestal, his head down; and hidden from public view, he cried.

On the outskirts of New London, in the Pendragon family house, Yulie helped her younger sister Arthuria, to take care of her only son, the son of the deceased Ivan Gredenko, who died just weeks at the Washington DC front after he met her from the Chicago campaign. The child came running into the kitchen when Yulie was washing the dishes from dinner they just had.

"Ivan! Ivan! Come back here! Don't disturb auntie in the kitchen!" yelled Arthuria from the living room. Yulie set the dishes in the sink and stared at the little child of ten. The child was frozen in his tracks.

"Ivan, what did I say about the kitchen?" asked Yulie in a very scary tone. The child got scared.

"Not to run in the kitchen," replied the kid.

"Good boy, now go back to mommy," said Yulie. The child left the kitchen slowly.

"Thanks, Yulie!" called Arthuria from the kitchen. Yulie just sighed and looked out to the window. It started to snow.

* * *

At Okinawa, Japan, a car drove on the winding road that hugged the hillside. It was a very clear day. A little girl with a Eurasian look and dark brown hair at the age of ten was belted to her seat at the back of the car, looking out to the sea.

"Auntie Vespin, the sea looks beautiful," said the girl.

"Yes Enma, it sure is," replied Vespin, her black hair slightly longer than it was ten years ago.

"Are we there yet?" asked the girl.

"Not yet, sweetheart. Just a few more minutes," replied Vespin. Enma pouted. Vespin took a glance at the back mirror and laughed at Enma's cute pout. They stopped at a flight of stairs leading up towards a hill. Vespin got out and opened the back door for Enma to come out. Clutching her hand, they walked up the flight of steps and reached a family tomb. There waited Maddie and another girl that looked like Enma.

"Shirley!" exclaimed Enma as she reached out to Shirley and hugged her. Both the girls giggled as they played along the small observation point of the tomb. Vespin and Maddie could just smile.

"They're becoming more and more like their father," commented Vespin. Maddie could just agree. It has been ten years since his death, but his actions was still fresh in Maddie's mind, all reminded by the little girls that she gave birth to.

"Oh, I almost forgot," said Vespin, taking out an envelope containing photographs of their tour of New Berlin last year. Maddie checked the photographs and found one that appeals to her most and set it on the tomb. It was a picture of her and the twins, standing next to the statue of the man she loved most; the man she'd married to.

"Look honey, they've built a statue of you in Berlin. Our little girls are growing up and becoming just like you. I…….miss you," said Maddie, with tears filling her eyes. Vespin could just put a hand on her shoulder, consoling her. Maddie wiped the tears off her eyes and looked at her children.

"Enma, Shirley, do you have anything to say to daddy and auntie Rina?" asked Maddie. The two girls stepped forward and stood in front of the tomb.

"Daddy, please take care of mommy and us on our journey through life. Also auntie Rina as well," said the girls said in unison. Maddie and Vespin smiled.

"Come on, girls. Let's go home," announced Maddie. It was getting late as the sun sinks into the ocean. The twins took a glimpse of the sunset before leaving with their mother.

"Aww, how cute. They asked you to look after her and me," commented Rina. Douglas let out a laugh.

"Ha ha, yeah. They've grown so fast. So sad that I can't see them by myself," replied Doug. Rina inched closer to Doug and held his hand.

"Come brother, let's see the sunset," she invited Doug. They both turned to the sun that was setting into the ocean. A leaf flew by and they both disappeared from view.

"_Who would've thought the Otonashis eavesdropped on the conversation between Arthuria and Rina?"_

* * *

_When my time comes,_

_Forget the wrong that I've done,_

_Help me leave behind some,_

_Reasons to be missed._

_Don't resent me,_

_And when you're feeling empty,_

_Keep me in your memory,_

_Leave out all the rest._

_Leave out all the rest…_

"_Leave out all the rest" by Linkin' Park_

"_When you're feeling lonely or helpless, remember; friends are there for you." Douglas Kreig, Commander of TSWAT 1__st__ Alpha team._

* * *

THE END

* * *

**A/N: I do not own Saya, Diva and Kai(Blood+, Production IG), Arthuria Pendragon(Fate/StayNight, Type Moon), Peach(Mario), and Kairi and Namine (Kingdom Hearts, Square Enix) and they all belong to their respective owners. It has been a journey and I hope you enjoy it.**


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